Found in the Forest
by Kera-of-the-Sagi
Summary: Kera, a tempremental sorceress, is kidnapped by the Death Eaters and sent on one of their dark missions to Hogwarts. Are you really evil when you have no control? And, what the heck is wrong with Harry and his friends?New Chapter!4 new pages in other Chps
1. Carriages Make Crappy Beds

Chapter 1- Carriages Make Crappy Beds 

The whispering of trees had always comforted Kera when she fell asleep. Now they were gone, replaced by the harsh sounds of crickets and nothingness from the fields around her. Carriages make crappy beds, her mother's friend, Jessie, always told her. No one knew how Jessie knew this; she'd never left the safety and seclusion of the forest, buried deep within the mountains. If only she could be back, or even in her grandmother's dratted city, because then at least she would know where she was, at home. Home… Tears trickled down her face. Kera remembered she had no home.

* * *

(A/N: This next blurb is all in Romanian)

"But mother, why are you going? I know you must see this Dumbledore person, but is there a reason I cannot come along? Why must I stay here?" Kera asked her mother as she watched her throw a few things hastily into a suitcase. Her mother was due to leave in the quarter hour to meet with the great English wizard, but she had been held back by an emergency in the horse fields. Apparently, from what Jessie, the horse manager, said, Foxfire and Mange were at it again, and this time Foxfire had been using, the usual, a hot and fiery blast on Mange, who replied with some sort of electric shock. The norm when you raised mythical horses in a forest that hummed with magic, especially during the mating season.

Katriona stopped for a moment to look at her misfit daughter, the almost exact mirror of herself. Kera had been wandering up through the trees again, she realized. There a few scattered leaves in her daughter's elbow lengthened, dark black-brown, every-which-way hair, as on her scraggly brown tunic shirt and jeans. Seeing that her fifteen-year-old gray, catlike eyes were over bright with tears, Katriona pulled her child into a warm embrace. Despite the time, there was always a chance for another couple of hugs for her only child, especially when only one parent was alive to give them to her. "Don't worry, Kera, my darling pearl. Your grandmother will take care of you. You will be fine in the city. After all, it's still in the forest."

"It's not the same," Kera muttered. "There aren't as many trees, and I always end up embarrassing grandmother with my un-ladylike behaviors. She called me an unruly beast-nymph last time; don't you remember?

"I know, but would you rather I sent you to live at a Muggle boarding school?" Kera flinched at this. Despite the soft texture of her mother's Romanian speech cushioning the sound, the words were still horrid. "Besides, you know your father's mother is your only living relative," she reminded her child, with the slightest stirrings of guilt. But, what her child didn't know couldn't hurt her. Besides, as cruel and upright as her mother-in-law was, she still did her best to relax in the presence of her grandchild.

"She doesn't even like us," Kera muttered; mistaking the spasms on her mother's face as grief for her father, who died long before she was born. "She blames you, for dad's death, saying you turned him against his brother, made both of them that way." There was no need to say the brother's name, no one else in the Wizarding world ever did. Curse Voldemort.

But her mother would not be dissuaded. Kera was going to Elitch, away from the Muggles, to stay with her grandmother, one of the city's chief matriarchs. Protesting wouldn't get her anywhere. "You'd better get used to not being taken seriously, or as an adult," Katriona informed her daughter as she lit a fire with the brand of hand sorcery their people, the Sagi of the forest, were famous for, and took a pinch of green floo powder. "She doesn't hold with such things. In fact, most Sagi in the city don't. I know you may not understand, but always remember deary; you are a Carutasu, a daughter of lighter days, and you will always find you way in the darkness."

Then, she had left Kera alone in their silent house, to finish packing.

* * *

The carriage Kera had found herself in bumped slowly to a halt. "Get out," said the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy.

She slowly stood, legs trembling at the sudden movement after so many hours of immobility, and promptly fell. Landing hard on her side, she gave a hateful glare at Malfoy. Impatience rising, he waved and two black cloaked men came forward and pulled her out roughly, without any of the fears that they would have once had. The girl had no wand, and her hands, the source of her regular spell casting, were impaled on two long, iron spikes, caked in blood; her dear grandmother's.

It had been an easy journey since then. There was no way she could use her hands, or arms, in any way, although the idiot goons weren't really sure why. Not that they cared to know the particulars. As long as the girl kept up staring blankly at the woods at her side, and refuse to talk or open her mouth except to scream. So what if they had to pry apart her jaw in a few days so she could be force fed? The other people that had been brought back the first time had killed themselves, much to the master's displeasure. At least she couldn't.

They led her over to a small, dank, wood shed and pushed her roughly inside. Hearing the thump of her loosely bound body, Malfoy drew closer to make sure she wouldn't do anything stupid. No use in getting so far only to fail now. The master drew close, after all. She shouted at them in some rough, guttural, strange language, showing she was quite alright, and they paid her no heed. Malfoy came over and said coolly, "Shut up, or the next stake will go into your throat."

Kera stopped and stared at him, head cocked. Amazing how animalistic those stupid brutes in the forest could be. Then, with all the halting pain of her condition, she said one word. "Why?"

Malfoy was taken aback. He had been sure that girl spoke no English, yet he was just as confident she had just asked him something. Knowing that he didn't have a memory lapse, and had never spoken Romanian nor heard it much used in his life, he didn't understand. Maybe 'why' was brutal insult in her tongue, and she'd been debating this whole time whether or not to use it. Pulling on a mask of indifference, he stared at his tall, weedy captive and replied, "Why what, you worm?"

Her English, if it truly was that, was slow, sputtering, like someone using the words for the first time. Who knew; from he'd been told she probably was. "Why you do it?" she stared back, sadly. "Why you kill? Why you take me from home?" Here she looked about, as if hoping she might be wrong. Continuing, "Why you so, ugly?"

"Ugly?" he hissed.

"Ugly," she nodded. "Ugly on in of self. Not, nice. Other of nice." Clearly, the girl thought that he was the stupid one not to know this. After all, it was his language she was speaking, not her own, and she was doing her best to learn her way around.

Malfoy felt his face burn, but wasn't going to let it master him. To be thought of stupid, by someone who could barely speak. He raised his wand, about to curse the wench, when he saw her recoil and crawl to the back of the shed in the dim light. From there he saw two strangely familiar eyes, though coming from the child, looking even to her enemy for comfort as she tried to bury herself deeply into the meager straw at her feet. "Bad one," she whispered. Malfoy stared at her as she began to tremble so violently that a few mild specks of dust rose up around her.

The 'Bad One'; source of almost all current evil and pain in the world. He, even in the past fifteen years of his demise, had risen beyond the rank of a mere boogie man or spook. Even when an adult of the sorcerer's race know as the Sagi's spoke his name, it was with a giant tremor of unadulterated fear. They called him 'Trina', which was an old name that meant 'he who swallows the sun', because that was what he did. When he was in his power, he came recruiting once, and the elders talked about it like it was the end of the world. Everyone lost a son or daughter to the fight; Voldemort only managed to steal one or two for his 'cause'. For a child, even if she was a teenager, with so little experience of the outside world, it was downright terrifying to a deathly point.

"Now, Malfoy, don't tell me you were thinking of harming our guest," said a high, cold voice behind him. The wind blew, and he could hear the light swish of a long cloak.

Flinging himself down in front of the man, Malfoy said, "No master. I would never do such a thing." He kept his eyes on his master's shoes, not wanting to look into his red, cat pupil eyes.

"Of course you wouldn't," said Voldemort. "Now get up, Malfoy." Malfoy got up, at Voldemort's quiet command, and bolted the shed door, leaving Kera in the darkness. She could just hear, in her slowly growing knowledge of the English language, The Dark One saying. "I don't want to see anyone even thinking of laying a hand on that girl, without my say so, understand?" His voice became, if possible, more cold. "Little Kera can be more useful than you think. Much more useful."

'He knows my name,' Kera thought. Crawling to a corner with straw, she curled up, trying to nurse her wounded hands and magic, and block out the screams coming from Malfoy's punishment.


	2. A Bad Taste in her Mouth

Chapter 2- A Bad Taste in Your Mouth

The darkness, it was everywhere. A piercing scream shot through the air as she struggled through the swaying rubble. Hands! Grabbing her from behind, dragging her into a corner. She couldn't reach her grandmother now!

Blood. The smell of blood. Blue-black, green tinged, on two long sharp stakes. She reached out for her magic, to drive them away, but the panic over took her. A wicked man's eyes, peering at her. Voices, "This is the one." "Then get rid of the others and set this place to the torch!"

Stabbing pain and agony. Looking down; two long, stakes of iron, piercing her hands. Iron! She reached out for her magic, but it fled from the iron, from her hands. Blackness, swallowing her.

* * *

Light hit Kera's eyes, waking her from the terrifying nightmare she had been trapped in, yet had had no desire to leave for the real world. It was a feeble light, but the first in many hours, and it _hurt._ She threw an arm up to cover herself, and that's when she heard someone coming. They had the soft steps, like a servant's.

A small, balding, watery-eyed man opened the door and peered inside with a look of disgust on his face. She returned the look with an even harder caliber, despite the growing pain. He flinched and muttered, "They were right. It is those eyes," then looked at her, gave a false, cheery smile and told her, "I'm suppose to take you to see my master, so come on, get up."

She didn't return the smile. They dragged her to who knows where, may or may not have put a large number of Sagi to the torch, cut her off from everything she knew and loved, and now were taking her to a person she'd rather die than meet. Except that she couldn't do that because they'd taken her magic away as well. "You take me to see Bad One. I no go there, Wormtail man. He want to see me, he come to muck house and talk here. But, I not go there." With conviction she began combing through her hair to make it look more presentable. Maybe her poor grandmother had rubbed of after all.

Wormtail swore. Trust Katty to tell her brats about him and the others; he wondered if she knew about the rest as well. Clearly she already knew of his master. Oh well, so she knew he'd betrayed her mom and her mom's best friends. Like that would even begin to help her now. He turned back, "Now, don't say that. Just come along and-"

"Just come along and," she spat right back at him. Her English was improving with every word she heard him say, but her harsh, Romanian accent still prevailed, and it made each word sound like a threat, so much like him. But she was a child, which made it all the more disturbing to everyone. There was a quieter air to Voldemort's camp than anyone had ever heard before. Even the tortured Malfoy made no noise in his room of agony. "Tell you what," she crooned, holding up her mutilated hands to the light, "You take these out, yeah, and I go."

"You'll run away."

"Yeah, like I say, I go. I go far away, and den one day I come and kill your master, yeah?" Her voice range with truth, if of a darker brand, and Wormtail knew she didn't lie. Or, if she did, it was an incredibly convincing one. Maybe it was better to just ignore the comment. Her hands were pierced, she was weak and alone, and he was only the messenger, not the origin of the bad tidings. After all, what would the Dark Lord do? (A/N: Laugh like a moron. Hey, it's like, 'WWVD?' or 'WWDLD?')

"Well," he said, pacifying, "I'm sure my master can fix your hands. Look what he did with my arm." He showed her the silver replacement Voldemort had given him a year ago. He just happened to forget to mention the certain painful circumstances under which the limb had been lost. One should never snivel about what one must do to show loyalty.

She merely muttered, "On'y cause he had you take off arm in the first, to help him." So, she had known about that, as well. Evidently, this was no stupid child. But, the real, all-important, grand slam question still remained; did her mother think she was ready to know the absolute truth? Wormtail sincerely hoped not, since it would be his neck on the line (No one knows why). Of course, he could only hope the child would try anything stupid if she did know. That way it would be much easier to impose a memory charm, even if his master would only get angry at him for delaying the meeting. But, luckily for him, they never crossed that bridge, as she sullenly got up and strode past him, forcing him to run in order to catch up with the tall girl, just as he had years ago with her mother and his other, one-time friends.

Voldemort's current location, if you could call it that, for who could ever know if he was truly there, until he allowed them to, was located inside an old, beaten up, abandoned inn. It was in the inn's old, beaten up shed where Kera had spent her first night. Now she wasn't sure if she was even going to live long enough to see a second night in it. Too bad she didn't get a chance to bravely end her own life instead of being tortured to death, like she knew was coming to her now. That, or enslavement to the Death Eaters.

Not that she had shown any fear to the sniveling, worm-man, and betrayer, Wormtail. Like her grandma had said, when she found her crying not long after she came to the city…

* * *

"Crying doesn't help anyone," Grandma had said, pacing around her like a caged lion. That's what she was. A strong, proud lioness, for all the years had done to her. In fact, they had only added to her majesty, giving her the air of knowing everything, which she might actually have been able to prove, with all the knowledge life had bestowed upon her. "All crying ever does is shows you're weak, unable to mask your sad face and not mature enough to come up with a better solution than to just sit there and feel sorry for yourself. No, I certainly won't have any granddaughter of mine act like that."

"But Grandma, sometimes it's good to cry. It shows you can feel." she winced, knowing that she'd gone perhaps, too far. Her grandmother, in the short week she'd been there, had already rattled Kera for far less heinous offenses. She held back-sassing in high regard, something Katriona had always been amazingly easy-going about.

The biggest surprise came to Kera. Her old, knurled, aging grandmother bent down, on her ancient legs, and told her, in barely a whisper, "I know child. But not out here. So long as people see you, an Aioli, or Carutasu if you prefer, one of my few family members, you must not appear like this. Ruling families must always make the decisions, and even though we are only the lesser ruling family of a lesser Caru clan, we must lead just as well as the leading families of the Kanji, the Sutra, and the Trichina." In a taller, more regal voice, she stood. "Come. I'll show you where you be attending lessons while-"

* * *

"-while you're here, you shall answer to Malfoy," Wormtail finished.

Thinking of her grandma, she spat at him, "I will answer to no one, especially not that trash, and you say is Malfoy!" In her fury her tongue slid back into Romanian as She tried to curse him. Nothing happen, of course. Her hands were still impaled. Feeling dizzy, Kera sank to the floor.

Wormtail smiled and muttered, "I know you don't. But you soon will. My master is strong, little girl. Can you really stand against him? I have yet to know of anyone who can."

She was about to hiss a reply (Harry Potter), when the door swung open. "Ah, Kera," came the snaky voice, "it has been so long, too long. Come in."

Kera stayed plunked firmly on the floor. Wormtail gave her a poke. "Well, you heard my lord. Go in."

"No, I think I stay where I sit," she told him, matter-of-factly.

Before Wormtail could do anything, though, Kera was on her feet, and walking, slowly, struggling with every step, forward. Her face began to fill with horror. No sound, no incantation, and yet the snake man was dragging her, almost literally, into the room.

She tried everything she could think of, but only moved faster as the burning pain in her hands weakened her resistance. All she wanted was for this to stop, for her to be back home with her mother, for everything to have been a nightmare. She hated and cursed Dumbledore, for taking her mother away from her, and allowing her to be subjected to this. Now, she would probably never see her family again.

As Kera stepped across the threshold she collapsed to the floor. She was in a small room with a roaring fire, a large, old, grand looking chair in which a man sat, hidden completely in his enormous ebony cloak. Everything in the place was wood, plaster, or cloth. 'Where is the metal, the liquid, the growing thing?' Kera asked herself. Her people had always believed in a balance, of all things, in every room, to help keep peace. "Kera, now that wasn't so hard, was it?" the voice issued from the hood, almost friendly, in a cruel, tormenting way. "In the future though, when you are called, I must let you know that I expect my servants to answer my call automatically. Watch, child, and learn. Wormtail," he raised his voice, "get in here, and close the door."

Wormtail scrabbled in like a rat and scurried to close the door. "He is quite useless," Voldemort told her, "but it is always useful to have a servant who is devoted to you, if only because they have no where else to go. You must always recognize people at face value, my dear."

'Why is he telling me this,' Kera asked herself. She, of course, got no answer. Where the hell was a conscience when you really needed it?

"Why am I telling you this?" he repeated. "Isn't it obvious, girl?" A vehement shake from Kera. "You've been recruited. As of now you are, of sorts, one of my Death Eaters. Don't look so surprise, Kera." For once it sounded as though he was regarding her as a sixteen-year-old, not the little girl he had been treating her like. This was not exactly a good thing, when you stopped for a second to consider who was doing the talking. Being treated like an unruly child meant there was a lessened chance of dying. Kera gave an involuntary shudder. He laughed that cold high laugh that haunted more than one teenaged dream. "You mean to tell me you have no idea? And all this time I thought the woman you call mother would have said something. I suppose even she refuses to think about it."

"I cannot be everywhere at once, girl, nor can my servants, especially the place where we should be the most. Malfoy's boy could have done it, but I suppose he already made himself hated to the Potter boy. You, however, are an unknown. That is why I am sending you to Hogwarts."

Kera voice popped back. "Hold on," she said, completely forgetting whom she was starting to spit at, "What you mean? Go to Hogwarts! You can't make me go to anyplace! I make my choices, not you! You kill my family! Why I do anything you say!" She made a very rude noise, (that I couldn't describe without soaring beyond even PG-13 status. It'd be like, X-17. A/N)

She couldn't see his face, but she was sure he was smiling, "how sure are you of that." Then he pulled back his hood. "A very nice restoration, no?" A solitary shaft of sunlight bounced of a single black lock of hair as he watched Kera's eyes roll upwards and heard the thunk of her falling to the floor. Replacing his hood, he ordered to Wormtail, "Bring the vial."

Wormtail came slowly forward, careful not to drop the glass vial, full to the top with a shining purple liquid. He poured its contents down Kera open mouth. She sat up, slightly groggy.

"Kera can you hear me?" She nodded, and Voldemort continued, "You are now confined to taking orders from me, and the Malfoys, with whom I am placing you with. You will go to Hogwarts, befriend Potter, and report back to me. You will not remember ever doing so, and you will forget this conversation. You have worked for the Malfoys for five years, ever since your family was killed. Understand?" Kera nodded, and simply fainted again.

"Oh, and one last thing," he added. "You do not remember what a look like at all." She didn't need to nod. Voldemort new his new version of a truth-imperius curse serum would work, and that it would be impossible for her not to obey.

When she woke up later, with a pounding head, Kera remember that she had been accompanying Mrs. Malfoy to help out on the Family Vacation, especially with Julia, who was higher strung than a bow string about graduating from her expensive European school. Kera recalled how glad the school had been as well, to see her go. But, for some odd reason, she had a bad taste in her mouth, as if she had been spitting words at someone. Luckily, it was early June and she had all summer before she finally headed off to Hogwarts with her little terror to sort that oddity out.


	3. Potatoes and Snogging

Chapter 3- Potatoes and Snogging

As Kera stood on the open plain, a breath of wind teased a strand of her hair away from the extensive braid it had been trapped in, and let it trail down the black silk dress with its ever fluttering, tattered ends. Overhead, the crows called to her. "Come, come fly with us. Come, come heal us, Kera. Help us to become what we were," they whispered to her.

But she would not, for if she did she would get red eyes, those dark red eyes, the same that had been haunting her dreams. And then, the man, the owner of the red eyes would come to get her, to get his red eyes back, and the person that wore them. He was coming for her, with his darkness. "No," she called back faintly, "I don't think I will. Please, leave me to go my way." But she had no idea where her way was, and the crows knew it. They began to crowd in closer, each second bringing one of them closer to touching her with a wing tips, and giving her the feared eyes.

Suddenly, people appeared before her. Their clothes blended with the gray ground, but in a comforting way, and Kera found herself trusting the look in their eyes. "Quickly," one said. He looked oddly familiar, like a friend of old; "You must follow me, before they get you."

"But how can I trust you?"

He looked at her, infinitely old. "Sometimes, little Kera, you must place your trust in others, and the human heart."

She took his hand, and instantly the plain became a cool green forest. All around her were her mother's people, her people. "Always trust your mother's people, as they do you. And, always place the trust in their forest, your forest. Kera…"

* * *

"Kera. Kera, miss. Please get up. I shouldn't have let you sleep this long. We must start our work, so Elli won't complain that we left all to him." Cosiky shook Kera awake, disturbing thousands of tiny dust motes in the loft. His bent and crooked nose was pressed against her own. Kera neared started and yelled when she opened her eyes to find Cosiky's black coarse hair, some much like a raven's wing, flopped on her face.

"I am sorry to have scared you like I did this morning, Kera-rae. I just couldn't think of another way to wake you up that didn't involve water, and I was in a hurry," Cosiky explain apologetically as they lugged a gargantuan bag of potatoes inside the house between them. Cosiky's family had had some serious mutations, he had explained to her earlier. Elli was not at all cheerful, like most house-elves, Cosiky had developed an unusual passion for water, and Dobby, well; Dobby was no longer in the Malfoy's service.

"I'm not minding," Kera told him, in her usual, stumbling English. " I just had what you call, bad-dream, and you looked like it when I came back from sleeping."

"When you woke up, you mean," a sneering voice. Kera turned, neatly dragging Cosiky with her. Leaning against the door, pale blond hair flopping slightly in front of his face, was Draco Malfoy.

"Yes sir. Two ways to say, all one meaning." She tried to sound normal, but inside she was apprehensive. For two weeks he had done nothing but stare at her, like she was an alien. Why did he choose now to talk to her? "Cosiky, I can get the sack. It not that heavy." Gratefully, Cosiky fled to the kitchen, leaving her alone with the sneering boy, their master.

"What did he call you?" While not losing the sneering quality, his voice sounded the least bit curious.

"Meaning, sir?"

"Kera-rae. I thought it was just Kera."

"You don't know what he say?"

"No. Should I?"

She stared at him. Draco didn't like that. "He your house elf," she muttered, but then said, "It mean, 'new one'. I'm Kera, new one." She tried to adjust her hands around the sack, but she had lied. It was like trying to carry a foundered horse over a mountain. How many potatoes did this house need? They must have more Irish blood than that family of red-headed wizards next door.

Draco just watched, then did the oddest thing. He leaned forward, picked up the bag as easily as if it was a feather, and resettled it more firmly in her hands. For the briefest second their faces were close, too close, almost touching noses. Then the potatoes were firmly in her arms and he was heading back out.

"Funny. I always thought girls were just chatty mouths on wheels. Maybe I was wrong." He left quickly.

'That was fast,' Kera thought, 'and a little too close for comfort.' His family had always given her a little of the creeps, but for a second they had been so close-

"So close we might as well have been kissing," she said, quietly. "Good thing no one saw. Hmm. Maybe I was wrong. I always thought boys were just monkeys taught to walk on two legs." She dashed inside, not noticing the little curlier blond head of Julia peeking out of a window.

Later that day, Kera found herself once again lugging potatoes, this time to a large cauldron that hung over a roaring fire. Potatoes always go in last in anything, so her mother had once said. "Cosiky, you done with meat yet?" she panted over her shoulder. How much could this family eat?

"Almost finished, Kera-rae," he called.

"Exactly how much can this family eat?" Oops. That really wasn't meant to be said aloud.

"The Master and Mistress is having guests tonight. The Minister and his wife, so's I was told," Elli was matter-of-fact, in his own waddling way. "And youm's waiting on thems, Kera girl. So's make sure you's cleaner than clean when you's go out there."

Kera had firmly decided that the best approach with these two (actually, the whole family) was to smile like an idiot. So, she did. Smiling broadly, she nodded. "Who this minster?"

"No minster, Kera-rae, minister. He bes the new 'un," it had been Cosiky's task since she arrived to fill in the gaping holes of her modern world knowledge, but he was gone at the moment. She had, after all, been living in a forest for most of her life. Not to mention, Eastern Europe. "Youms got no minister in dat forest o' yours?"

She shook her head. "Dey soup, it be's ready!" Elli declared proudly. He was, after all, the one cooking. Ladling out the soup, he paused to wag a gray finger at her, "Now, Kera girl, yous give de master and missus and der guest thems soups first. Next, go to wheres all dem kids be, and serve dat next. Comes back right after, yous hearing me?"

"Master, missus, minster and wife first, den then kids. Does minster got kids?" she asked as she loaded soup onto a trolley.

"Yups," Cosiky squeaked, waddling back in from where he had been serving drinks. "Dere's be Beatrice, she nice, 'bout de young master age, den dere's Alice and John. Dem's right terrors, like liddle miss Julia."

"Now, yous get out dere, girl." Elli snapped when she started to leave, "Do's sumthing wit dem blood scar hands. All thick and congegeal, yous gonna give dem guests a sick-turn. Wat yous do, grab on to dey end of spikes? Tick yous man off? Not likin' then ways a man touch you?" House-elves were never among the high-class when it came to crudeness. Elli had often made this point, as if it were the most natural thing in the world for those to be rape scars.

Kera was about to deny it. She remembered something, so foggy and dim in her memory. It had to do with a man, and iron stakes in those same hand. She could almost remember his name, was it- vanished. As though an invisible hand swept over her mind, Kera forgot all about the strange vision.

Obedient, the image of servility, Kera straightened up and, as if guided by an unforeseen force, pulled out two white gloves. Sliding them onto her hands, a blank and vacant look shining clearly through, she pushed the handcart into the dining room.

The dining room was, easily, one of the pride and joys of the Malfoy mansion. Made entirely of a dark oak so ancient it was rumored to date back to the Early Middle Ages, it gave the heavy air of old blood, and money. But, years had taken a toll. The fireplace, once in constant use, was dark, and soot no longer graced its stone, while the numerous wall hangings were faded and slightly threadbare.

Yet the room still stood, a test to which time had failed, and in it sat a long table. To one end, the adults, to the other, their children. Draco Malfoy sat with the children, trying to avoid the puppy like glances of Beatrice by staring solemnly out the window and across the field to another house, where a certain family of red heads with a certain flame haired girl was sitting down to their own meal. He was snapped out of his quite reflection by the overly honeyed voice of his dining partner. "Oh, Draco, it was simply dreadful being away from you all summer. I kept asking my mother when your family would be back from East Europe, but she said she didn't know. Aren't you just looking forward to being back in Hogwarts? I've never been there before. Is it fun?" Beatrice's father had only been the minister for a few months. Previously, their family hailed from America. She hadn't found out that she would be returning shortly for a new school, at which time she would throw the fit to end all fits. No more Draco Malfoy.

A sound of loud laughter interrupted her. At the adult's end of the table, the minister had apparently said something that, as manners dictated, was to be extremely funny. At Draco's mother's side, Kera quietly stood, taking off the rather large soup bowls from an enormous cart and setting them in front of each guest. Finally, a distraction! He really needed something right now to get his mind away from Beatrice. In his opinion, girls were good for two things; kissing, and betting. Not that he had been able to do much of the first himself with his annoying school 'friends' if you could call them that. Draco never really had had much fun in school. In fact, some unseen force had done a good job of making him down not only at school, but home as well.

"Who's the girl?" John asked wickedly. He was the family butterfly torturer.

"That's Kera," Julia snickered. "She's dumber than a house elf, and just as docile. Watch. Oh, Kera?" she called as the girl wheeled her trolley over.

"Yes, miss?" Kera asked quietly.

"We were just talking about you. I told our guests that no one could possibly look as stupid as you, but they didn't agree."

"Really, miss?"

"Yes. I told them you didn't just look stupid, you were!"

"Really?" Kera blinked rapidly, several times. No one noticed that her eyes, once black, had turned a brilliant amber, like that of a dragon. And, no one but Draco saw the smallest piece of china on the mantle suddenly burst, as if someone had shot it. Kera however, was leaning forward.

Casually resting her elbows on the table, she asked, quite innocently, "And how would you prefer I act, miss? Masters don't like their servants to be very intelligent."

One thing both of the Malfoy children observed; Kera was no longer speaking like their house elves. She was talking quite calmly and in such a mannered way that you never would have known she had been speaking anything but her whole life. Julia's face turned ugly. "Well," she sneered, "I certainly don't want you to start acting like a whore. Oh, but wait, since my brother nearly jumped you today, I suppose it's already too late."

Kera's head had now sunk into her elbows as Julia took a slurp of her soup. "Well, you know, it's just a good thing then that I'm not a mean slut," she replied softly. "Otherwise, that little piece of chicken you just ate, might've really been- Opps. Maybe I was wrong."

"About what!"

"Well, I was going to say that that itty bitty thing in there might just be a piece of your shredded teddy bear but-" she stopped at Julia's horrified face, "-I'm actually starting to think it's just one of your brother's balls."

Straightening up, she grinned at them. "Well, back to the kitchen. A maid's work is never done. Got to get the main course ready; it's roasted ferret. But, you might not one to eat, considering how your whole family is the substitute for the real stuff." She gave the smallest saunter as she went back into the kitchen.

_That was very foolish, Kera. Trying to break my grip._


	4. Meetings with a Certain Weasley

Chapter 4: Meetings with a Certain Weasley

As it was easy for Kera to imagine, Elli was livid when he found out. And, likely on Elli's orders, Cosiky wouldn't speak to Kera for a week. No communication from either of them meant no really chores, and she wasn't about to protest. So, the first free time she had in as long as she could remember, she spent alone, exploring the quaint town of Ottery St. Catchpole.

One day, while she was wandering about the main street, she heard two red heads, obviously brother and sister, debating something very un-muggle-ish, outside a storefront.

"Look, mum said, 'I want a dozen negs and two pounds milk," the brother told his younger sister imperiously. She groaned and mimed bashing her head with something.

The girl snorted at him and snapped, "Would you stop joking, she said a dozen eggs and two batches of milk. Why mum would ever entrust you with the shopping, Fred, I'll never know."

"Oh, com'on Gin, you know why. It's because of my amazing-"

"I don't want to hear it-"

"Excuse me?" Kera asked. "Do you need any help?"

"Oh great," the sister, Gin, snapped. "You've gone and gotten a muggle suspicious." She shook her head and gave Fred as hopeless a look as anyone could give. Tossing her hair behind her shoulders, she started to attempt to explain away the bizarre behavior, saying, "Oh no, we're quite fine, thanks. My brother just-"

"Oh," Kera shook her head, "I'm no muggle. I'm a sor- a witch-maid, of sorts. I work for a wizarding family up around here.

"Wait, wizarding family?" the boy asked. "You work for the Diggorys?" Shake. "Lovegoods?" Shake. "Fawcetts?" Shake. "Who else is there?"

"No one el- not unless you work for the Malfoys," Gin said, suddenly looking quite disgusted.

Kera shrugged her shoulders. The girl snorted again. Kera began to wonder if this was a very bad habit, and remember a foggy memory of someone who would always criticize her for slips like that. Gin laughed blatantly, "As if they haven't got enough servants. So, what're you doing as a slave in the Malfoy residence?"

Again Kera shrugged. They seemed friendly enough, and shared at the very least her dislike of the people who took her in. "Living. Breathing. Working my ass off for a bunch of jerks who think I'm dumb as a cow. But, do you need help or not?"

"Yes, please," said the girl. "Tell this numbskull here that it's a dozen eggs and two halves of milk."

"You mean, two half gallons?"

"Yes, that's it. How do you know that?"

"Back home, people were a lot less, afraid, of magic."

"Really," said George, "where's that?"

"Romania."

"Far. And, what exactly do they call you there?"

"Kera. Actually, Keranou- never mind, you'd better stick with Kera."

"Cool. I'm George, and the hothead's my sister, Ginny." He offered Kera a nice looking sunburned hand.

"Nice to meet you Kera."

"Same to both of you. It's nice to know some people are halfway decent around here." She took the hand.

"We're a dying race," he replied, "but our family's doing our best to take care of that."

"Really? Do tell."

* * *

It was as if Kera's life had gotten a new purpose. The five weekdays were spent in a dull stupor of working in the Malfoy's kitchen, where not even Julia dared venture since that fateful evening, which had later left Kera with one half-meal a day for two weeks. But, on the Sunday, after Saturday's shopping, she would hop the massive hedge fence separating, on small spot, the expansive mansion property from the rambling homey-ness of the Weasley's towering cottage. It was hear, almost three weeks after their first meeting, that Kera found herself aiding Ginny and the twins in their never ending battle against the rambunctious and magically enhanced weeds.

Kera, her own magic greatly hindered by the complication of relearning every spell with a non-existent wand, had gone for the more muggle approach and was busy tackling a dandelion the size of a small dog. Ginny weaved in and out, attempting to stun the creature, which was now hissing and spitting purple flames, when her mother came out. "Ginny, come in quickly. Your dad's just got back with Ron, Harry, and Hermione." Ginny dropped her wand and hurried inside. As Kera struggled out of the plants embrace to get away before she barged in on something and turned back towards the fence, Mrs. Weasley spotted her, "Oh, Kera, you should come in and meet Ron too. You'll be going to Hogwarts with him and his friends, after all." In the past few weeks Mrs. Weasley had become an aunt, of sorts.

Kera shook her head sadly. No use being where she didn't belong; besides, she had more of those blasted potatoes to peel. "No, Mrs. Weasley, I've got to go anyway."

She looked rather put out, "Oh, right. Well, come by as soon as you can. If I'd think she'd listen, I'd mention letting you off more to Mrs. Malfoy…" Her voice trailed off, and Kera jumped the fence.

* * *

_You will go to Hogwarts, befriend Potter, and report back to me weekly. You will not remember ever doing so, and you will forget this conversation. You have worked for the Malfoys for five years, ever since your family was killed_.

Kera woke up that night with a burning pain in her hands. She bent over double, letting out a scream that, soundless as it was, still ripped a hole in her throat, and inside her. It was like a hot fire, roaring in her blood stream, taking her living body and slowly, agonizingly, transforming it into ash. Her mind was nothing but turmoil, and over and over she heard those hideous words. But, there was no person to put them with. Whoever had said them was a nameless figure from her past.

Finally, a piece of her conscious grew sane enough to provide a sanctuary, separate from all the incineration. From there, she built up her defenses and, agonizingly slowly, pushed back the pain. It left her, but took all her strength while it was at it. Kera collapsed on the sound wood of her barn loft, clutched about for her quilt, then dragged herself back onto her small straw pallet of the corner. As she lay there, panting, the moonlight from the large hay loft that served as a window fell across her face, revealing a white, shuddering zombie, with nothing left in her eyes but the very whites, open to an almost ghastly point.

"I hear, dark lord, and obey," She croaked.

As if being released from a spell, Kera fell limp and her eyes closed. Two tears trickled down her face. At the same time, a long crack in the strange mirror in the corner, the one she'd been forbidden to move, received a long, narrow crack down the center, and the next morning it was in pieces.

Needless to say, the Malfoys weren't too pleased the next day to find it shattered. For reasons of their own, Kera was giving an immense shopping list, with the orders, not to come back at least until dinner. Mrs. Malfoy had said, "Kera, you're such a lovely girl, and I'm sure we'd all get along in you just, tried, to fit in with every one else. You can do that, can't you?"

At which she'd answered, "I don't know, Mam, I've never tried." At which, for good measure, she was also told to take Julia as well.

Julia, of course, was the most horrid wrench while Kera attempted to get all the things, including a new sack of potatoes, until she spotted Draco coming down the road. Then she snapped at Julia, "He's your brother, go annoy him!" She promptly shook her head. So, finally, Kera had to give her the two pounds pocket money she'd gotten for the week to send her off to play with another of her snide friends. "Eleven year olds!" she cursed.

"Oh, and you mean to tell me you weren't that bad?" whispered a slick voice in her ear. Kera jumped and, three shops down the road, a crystal vase burst into piece, much to the surprise and woe of its keeper.

"Malfoy, can't you just avoid me like you normally do?" she pleaded, ever since the soup incident, he'd stayed far away and, much as it strangled her pride to do it, she was ready to plead to get that back. "It's been so lovely without someone hovering round me."

Fine," he said, "I won't hover. But, I thought you might want to know about the mirror."

"Malfoy shut up and get the hell away from me!"

"Okay, your loss." He sauntered off. Kera began to shiver, badly.

As soon as all the items were found, Kera rushed over to the Weasley's house, since she obviously couldn't go back to the Malfoy's (even if she'd wanted to). Once there, it was the work of two seconds before Mrs. Weasley happily put a freezer charm on the food, offered lunch, and shoved Kera bodily out the door with a thick sandwich, straight into Ginny. "Hey Ginny," she mouthed brightly over the giant mouthful she took to prove to Ginny's mom that she'd eat it.

"Hi Kera. The Malfoys let you off early?" Ginny replied.

Kera swallowed painfully, and then nodded, "With orders not to come back until dinner. Had to ditch Julia first, though."

"Who's Julia," asked a curious voice. It came from a bushy brown head with pretty face, half hidden by her book.

Three voices answered, "Malfoy's little sister." Ginny laughed, the tugged Kera further into the yard. "Everyone, this is Kera. She works for the Malfoys. Kera, this is my brother, Ron." Obviously, with hair as brilliant as her was, but taller and more freckled. "Hermione." The girl behind the book gave a small wave. "And this, is Harry." A tall, dark young man stepped out from behind his friend and into the sunlight. Kera's eyes, having seen a drawing someone had done of him once, instantly flew to the raven hair, the emerald eyes, and, of course, the lightning scar. Harry, who was normally used to staring, stared back. He'd seen this girl somewhere before, but all his mind came up with was a blank.

Kera snapped out of the strange voice repeating the boy's name over and over when Ginny asked with a firm plop on the ground, "So, what did you do this time?"

Kera let her legs collapse. "Nothing much. Just broke a mirror. But man, they were pissed." One of the odd things Ginny could never get over about her new friend was how she talked like an American witch, yet she was from Romania. She used to wonder if Kera had lied to them, but after hearing her rattle off an extensive list of kings, flora, and fauna native to Romania, and then verifying it all, she could give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, she'd sworn to Fred that Kera was talking to a chipmunk the other day, so maybe she was just good at that.

"So, any of them still talking to you," Ron asked.

Her heart leapt ever so slightly. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, sorry Kera, I told them all about it yesterday."

"Ah. Well, no, not really. I think they're trying the whole, if we pretend she doesn't exist, maybe she won't, deal."

"I know what that's like. Try the Dursleys."

"So, is it true that they have two other house elves?"

"Yeah, Cosiky and Elli. Two of the creepiest things on the planet. Said they had a brother too."

Hermione frowned, "I'm not sure if that's the nicest thing to say about-"

Ron cut her off, "Oh, come on, Hermione, no one but you thinks elves are in their right minds." They promptly set off on another argument of their own.

"Wait, is their brother named Dobby?" Ginny and Harry both asked.

"That's it! Oh and- Hermione?" Hermione looked away from her argument with Ron. "You can't say that they're not weird. Elli convinced these," She brandished her hands, "are rape scars." Hermione stared with an open mouth. Everyone else laughed. Kera had a feeling that this was going to be a good summer.

"Hey, Kera, ever play Quidditch? Hermione's useless and we could always use another chaser."

As they went inside to get the brooms, Ginny pulled Kera back, "Kera, what ever you do, try to avoid anything morbid around Harry, he's been ordered to take a Pepperup Mood Potion everyday, but he still gets down pretty easily."

"Why's that?"

"I think," she replied slowly, "that you should wait for Harry to tell you that one." Frowning still, "Race you. 1…2…3… go!" Suddenly she was just running and laughing like nothing had happened. And, before Kera knew it, she was doing the same. It all stopped, however, when they crashed into the boys a minute later.


	5. But if One Was a Dream

Chapter 5: But if One Was a Dream

"Ron, try to think, okay?" Harry was frustrated. It was after dinner, and Ron was so full talking to him was getting a cat to learn a trick. "I know I've seen that girl somewhere before, and if I have, then chances are so have you."

"Why?" demanded Ron. "Why do I have to have seen her too? Couldn't she have met you before you met me, and you both just got hit really hard on the head or something? I mean com'on."

From downstairs, the sound of the two girls doing dishes drifted up. Kera had left, saying the Malfoys were having guests and she was serving. That, in turn, had set off Mrs. Weasley, who spent the rest of dinner mutter about, "Some families." Percy, then, began to go on and on about some new report he was doing on the alarming rate of mortar erosion in old mansion, and it was no wonder everyone was relieve when Fred finished his dessert.

"Look, Ron, odd as this may sound, when I'm with the Dursleys I don't exactly run into too many wizards," Harry replied tartly. "But it really feels like the meeting was recent."

"How recent?" They were on the last flight of stairs.

"I don't know." He shook his head then lapsed into silence. As they opened the door, he spoke, "Definitely within the last month."

The door, by default, closed behind them. Ron threw himself on his bed. "But you've been with us and the Order for the last month. And Fred and George said that the Malfoys hadn't left their house since they got back from Europe. (A/N: Fred and George have joined the Order, and are in the area to keep an eye on wizards like the Malfoys.) How could you have seen her?"

Harry was on his own cot now. "I know, that's why it's bugging me. If Kera really does work for Malfoy, then there's no way we've even seen each other."

"Unless she's lying."

"She can't be." With a squeak the door swung to reveal Hermione and Ginny, who continued, "Kera's only fifteen, and from what she's told me, it's sounds like she depends on them more than you realize."

"How?"

"Well, from what I was told, her family all died five years ago." Hermione hissed sympathy and Harry looked down. Ginny stopped and he looked up.

"It's okay, Gin, I'm fine. Go ahead, I swear I won't get suicidal."

He smiled and she took it to be true. "Apparently, the Malfoys were the closest relatives, linked only by grandmothers who were 4th cousins, or farther. They had her go to some private school play 'aide' to Julia, but since the little beast is starting Hogwarts, she's free to do the same."

"And I thought I had it rough," Harry murmured.

"So," Hermione quickly changed the subject, "how did Lucius Malfoy get out of Azkaban?"

Ron leapt on it. "Well, it was a matter of time, really. See, as my dad mention a couple of weeks ago, the dementors of Azkaban did like Dumbledore predicted and practically ran to You-Know-Who's side." Despite being at the Order's Location, now moved from Grimmauld Place, the three were still fairly in the dark about what went on a few doors away from them. "Luckily, though, that was the last straw. At least Fudge is out now, and we've got someone who might actually be able to do something."

"You don't suppose it was a dream, do you?" Harry clearly wasn't paying any attention.

"No."

"How could it?"

"But if one was a dream, how could they become real? Think about what your saying, Harry."

"Then how do you explain it?"

"Dunno."

"Maybe you just remembered my description."

"You might've seen someone just like her."

"Yeah, you're probably right."


	6. Meanwhile and After… Why?

Chapter 6: Meanwhile and After… Why?

Back at the Malfoys Mansion, Kera had lapsed back into her old house-elf speech. It was a curiosity, her mother had always admitted, that her daughter could likely converse with a chipmunk without a second thought, when both her parents had struggled forever just to go from English to Romanian. She even got the accent right.

"Kera?" Mrs. Malfoy glided into the kitchen. Out of all the family, she was the girl's favorite, which meant Kera actually attempted to help her.

"Yes Mam?" Kera stuck her head out of the pantry.

"Kera, I was hoping you would take the night off," said Mrs. Malfoy civilly, seating herself on a stool that came out of no where and refusing a biscuit from Cosiky.

"May I ask why, Mam?" It only took a few second to switch from one accent to another.

"Well, it's only two guests we're having, and Cosiky and Elli can handle everything just fine without you."

"But, then, why out? That sounds, Mrs. Malfoy, like what you're implying."

"There will be a man fixing your mirror, and I don't want him disturbed," she replied, a little harsh. Why Kera had to argue was beyond her, especially when she was trying so hard to do this nicely.

"Oh. Couldn't I just as easily do work?" For some reason, Kera felt it imperative that she stay.

"Fine then," Mrs. Malfoy snapped, now more than fed up with all of this, "go muck out the stable, and stay out there after you're done!"

Kera scampered out.

Mrs. Malfoy gave a harsh sigh. She knew that the strange Romanian wasn't really her child, yet the motherly instincts inside of her screamed that Kera should not come in contact with the Dark Lord or her sister Bellatrix, especially when her husband would be begging for forgiveness. It was not only the sad mission, for which she only felt slight remorse for the other party, but also for what she'd seen. Everyone in the Black family had been so proud to see her marry Lucius, and so had she, until Draco came. Her son, at age eight, was like Kera; innocent and forgiving. Now, he was hardened to stone, and at the hands of his own father. And, while Kera was not nearly as good as him (It was hard not to feel like you were dealing with a wild fox.) she would only bear through that once.

* * *

Draco Malfoy had nothing to do. It was during dinner, and he and his sister had been excused while the adults sat and talked. Quite frankly, he was glad. His sister was always overjoyed to see their aunt, but he himself was always put out by the thought. So, he happily escaped and headed toward the orchard. Halfway there, however, he stopped and entered the stable to find the source of a strange, guttural singing. (A/N: A stable may be a barn, but that barn is not this stable.)

Its source, half melodious, half spine tingly, was Kera, down on her hands and knees scrubbing. Draco approached warily; he hadn't forgotten the last time there were visitors. "We-ell now, what are you doing out here, Master Malfoy? I was pretty sure dinner wasn't going to end any time soon. Did you get sent from the table for being naughty, sir?"

"Why do you always do that?"

"What, sir?" Kera rose to her feet. She was tall enough, but he was taller.

"You heard me!"

"No, sir, I didn't. Maybe your head's just gotten so big, you're ears are up in the sky and your hearing's off."

"Why do you feel a need to constantly mock me?"

"Why do you feel the need to act like a sick perv?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"Yeah, I did, but I don't get it." He sank to the floor against a wall with a pale hand to his forehead. Someone wasn't feeling very well. Kera, however, wasn't at all punctured out of her pissed mood.

"What's wrong with you? Normally you'd be insulting my intelligence, race, family, or 'social' life by now." Kera was curious. This was new. He seemed weaker than the regular Malfoy. Was he catching something? Kera sincerely hoped he wouldn't get sick. Taking care of people who were jerks to her wasn't something she did with any particular grace or skill, and she didn't relish in the idea of the whole concept of charity, either.

"Would I? Normally, I think it's actually the other way around. I'm confused." Come to think of it, he sounded nicer too. What was going on with him? Maybe, just maybe, this was a narrow window of opportunity to try something new. He hadn't been hideous to her the entire time; maybe now was the time to go for a different approach with him. The thought of it made her dizzy with the impossibility.

She sank to the floor next to him. "So am I." She gave him a long, steady look. "Now, it seems we've reached an odd sort of crossroads, and there are two different choices. We can a) continue to act as we have been and make each other miserable or b) start over."

"And that'll help how?"

"Well, I don't know, Private Per- I'm willing to try."

"Well, I'm feeling generous tonight, so I'll give it a shot as well."

"Okay." Kera extended her hand. "Hello, my name's Keranouita Carutasu. And you are…"

"Draco Malfoy." He laughed. "Is that really your name? Kerano-"

"Keranouita Rhan Carutasu." She peered at him. "Do you have a problem with my name?"

He shook his head. "Not at all. In fact, it's kind of nice, in a strange way."

Kera knew that what ever was wrong with Draco would be over and done with by next morning, but for right now it was nice to have someone, who wasn't scything enough, to actually be able to talk to.

"Hey Kera?" he asked a few minutes later, when a strange and nasty sensation started creeping in on him.

"Huh?"

"Could you start singing again?"

"Um…"

"I was feeling so much more… healthy, while I was listening to it."

Kera glanced at him, trying to make sure this wasn't some type of joke. She shrugged. "My mom always said music was a good way to heal, so why not?" She went back to the same song as earlier, and Draco just sat there. He felt, for once, that school might not be such crap this year.

* * *

The mirror was fixed when Kera went to sleep. It winked at her, making her strangely dizzy. No sooner had she drifted off than a tall man in a cape blacker than the night stepped out and glided over to her silent form. He stopped and looked, as one could only imagine, for his face was hidden, with an almost loving gaze. Muttering, he told silent ears, "You do realize, Keranouita, that you brought this upon yourself. It's easy to see that I've no use for a servant who not only struggles against her master but also refuses to obey simple orders, like she was told." A pale hand came out from underneath the material, cold and lifeless, holding a strange vial; it was filled with a dank cloud of something. It was this the man uncorked, and watched with utter satisfaction, free from remorse, as Kera slowly breathed it in. The little air that escaped her inhalation, floated over to a nearby muggle farm, where it was breathed in by a cow that died of bizarre circumstances a month later. Seeing that cold sweat was on her brow, he sighed and wiped it away. Then, with a look of utter disgust, left the way he came.

Needless to say, while the household was unbalance somewhat with alarm the next morning, Lucius Malfoy took it quite peacefully. And why not: it was he who made the 'poison', on his master's orders, though he was sure another of the servants would have delivered it. It was a shame for him, however, that Narcissa Malfoy saw, and took over the care of her servant girl personally after that.

It was a week later that the same woman came to the realization that she was out of nightshade, the only thing that seemed to, for unknown reasons, be what kept Kera from delirium. While she searched in the kitchen, the only modern appearance in the entire house, her husband came in. "Narcissa," he said, in his usual icy tones. "Why do you continue to do this?"

She turned from the ancient ingredient cupboard, "Do what, husband?" Over the years, as she had realized that her husband would never love her quite the way she wished, Narcissa had made it very clear that she would do exactly the same. It was tragic, how naïve she had been in her younger years.

On the other end, Lucius Malfoy cursed fate. It was true, he had once loved his wife, and it was quite likely she'd returned that love, but nothing could ever come before his utter devotion to the Dark Lord, to the power his master brought. Not his wife, kids, nor himself. Now she saw that, and under its harsh light what they once felt withered and died. He barely even knew who he was speaking to. "You know," he replied, softening his voice only so much that his wife would catch the difference. "The Dark Lord informed us of his plan; he said the girl would live. Why do you continue to fight his will?"

"Fight his will?" She almost hissed at him. "Don't you see, Lucius, what he's doing? What you're doing? Do you really mean to tell me you don't care at all for your family?"

"This Romanian orphan is no family of mine!"

"She's not an orphan, and you know that fully well!" she snapped. "You also know what we did to her, what we are doing to her. The least we can do is to try and get her to accept us!"

"But what of when she goes back home Narcissa? What then?"

Narcissa laughed weakly and collapsed into a chair. "I can't believe you actually think he will send her back. You know the Dark Lord; I know the Dark Lord. Once he sinks his teeth into someone, he never lets go. Kera will never see her real family again. What's gotten into you?"

He stepped over to her and tenderly touched her shoulder. "Nothing has gotten into me, dear. You're just tired."

She pulled away from him and watched his hand flop. "No, you're right, nothing's wrong with you. I just don't know you anymore. In fact," she looked up slowly, "I don't even know my son or daughter anymore. Lucius, I've neither known nor loved you since the day you became the man who dragged my son to the Death Eaters, all for the power of hatred and the strength it could give you." Narcissa got up, and headed towards the door, magiking her coat towards her as she went.

"Where are you going?" Lucius asked hoarsely.

"DRACO, COULD YOU PLEASE COME DOWN HERE?" Mrs. Malfoy's voice rang through the house's old wood.

He appeared in a second, almost close enough to be eavesdropping, yet his hair was dripping, clearly from the torrential storm that had just started up outside. "Did you check on Kera?" Mrs. Malfoy asked pleasantly. He looked sideways at his father, still standing agape, then nodded. "And?"

"She says if she's going to die, she'd prefer to do it in a bed that she's become accustomed to," he replied, minus a lot of the usual sarcasm. One note of a song he couldn't stop humming was in his head. Then again, he loved his mother and it would have gone against that to even suggest a lie with his voice. "I told her you'd prefer it if she was out of the cold, but well-"

"She's Kera," Mrs. Malfoy finished. "Ah well, it was worth a try. Now, come along Draco, we need to go next door to borrow a few things."

"Which one?" On one side was muggles, and on the other-

"The Weasleys, of course. I've not seen Molly in a while." She tried to sound pleasant, but was in fact very nervous. "Now, we should leave quickly, because I don't want to keep them up if I come over late. I shall see you later, Lucius." And with that she seized Draco and dragged him into the rain, leaving her astounded husband behind in an empty room.

* * *

If Molly Weasley was at all surprised to see Narcissa Malfoy, her one-time school friend, at her door with a dripping wet umbrella and son in tow at 9 in the evening, she was quick to master it. "Narcissa, how- um- lovely to see you after so long. Won't you come in? I was just about to make tea."

"Thank you, Molly. Is it alright if Draco comes in? It's fairly wet, and what I came to tell you about may take awhile." She did her best to seem as comfortable as possible; Mrs. Weasley had to give her that.

"Of course. Won't you step into the kitchen? Draco can dry himself in the hallway." The boy at least had enough manners not to say anything. From what she'd heard from the children, he should have been spitting venom everywhere by now. Then again, from what Molly dimly remembered of the quite, somewhat kindly first-year Slytherin his mother had been, maybe her second-hand impressions were mere error. Then again, she didn't raise her children to be liars, and half watched the boy as she went to the kitchen.

Sitting down on a stool, she offered Mrs. Malfoy a seat. The woman declined and said she would rather stand. "Well, Narcissa, what brings you here?" Not forgetting how their friendship had dissolved, she spoke quite coolly.

"Mrs. Weasley- Molly, I believe you know my servant, Kera? From what I've been told by my daughter, she often comes to your house in her free time." Mrs. Weasley stiffly nodded. "Well, then, maybe you have noticed that she hasn't shown up lately?"

"I figured she was merely being kept busy," was the firm reply.

Mrs. Malfoy ignored what was being implied, saying instead. "Well, Kera has grown gravely ill. We don't the cause of her sickness, only that the hideous fever is kept at bay only by nightshade, which I've run out of."

"And you haven't taken her to St. Mungo's?"

"She refused to be moved, in any way. I was hoping you might have some of the herb yourself."

Molly eyed Narcissa for several minutes. She wasn't sure what to make of this. Not only was nightshade a deadly poison in the wrong amounts, but when had Narcissa, once Black now Malfoy, cared about any of her servants. Simple schoolgirl she may once have been; now the girl was a woman, and Mrs. Weasley wasn't ready to sympathize. "Well-"

"-Molly. Please, I-I need your help. I couldn't stand losing another child in my house! It's cursed. The very walls are hungry for life. Please, help me. If not for Narcissa Malfoy, than for dear old Sissy!" Tears began to trickle from once lifeless eyes.

"It's okay, Narcissa. Come on, come on, Sissy, let's go see what I have."

Draco, feet dripping all over the mat, looked disdainfully at the small, cramped hallway he found himself in. Why had his mother chosen to drag him here, of all places? He somewhat distantly knew that it had something to do with the oddly unnerving disease that seemed to be overcoming Kera; but that his mother, one of the best pure-bloods in the land, would stoop so low and ask a blood traitor for help? Well, no servant of his would ever be worth that much.

"Ugh, this weather's terrible. Hey, you girls in the mood for a snack?" Ron's gangly feet were the first to appear on the groaning stairs; dirty hand-me-downs that must have been at least a size too small. They were soon follow by long, ripped shorts, an even worse shirt, and, finally, the freckled boy himself. And where there was Ron, there was almost always Harry. The two stopped dead when the saw the dripping Malfoy in front of them. Trying to avoid any sudden movements, Ron inched into the kitchen. He returned seconds later, mouthing for Harry, "There are more of them."

"Malfoy. What're you doing here?" Harry bitterly wished he hadn't left his wand in Ron's room. Not that it would have done any good, of course.

"Yeah," Ron sneered, "is your mansion really that bad?"

"Ron," Harry whispered tersely, "I hope you realize you just insulted yourself as well."

"Potter. Weasley." For once in his life, Draco Malfoy seemed determined not to say anything. He stood, almost as if a wandering Medusa had frozen him moments before, and merely glared.

"I'm going to ask you again Malfoy," Harry told him, coming closer. "What're you doing here?"

"Hey, what's going on?" Ginny stood behind Ron's tall frame, vision obscured. "I thought we were getting a snack. Hermione?" Hermione, next to Ginny on the step, had caught sight of Malfoy and stopped short of gaping.

Malfoy, on the other hand, was pounding. Or, at least, his heart was. Even the sound of her hidden voice was enough to make him nervous, and not much made him tremble. "Alright, Potter. You know that girl you people are all so fond of?"

Harry looked at him, and Ron and Hermione remained blank. But, Ginny instantly yelped, "What did you do to Kera, Malfoy!"

A dark look passed over his face. "Nothing," he calmly replied, remembering to check his temper in front of this beautiful girl. "She's just sick. My mother ran out of something, and since you're the only wizarding family this, close." He avoided at all cost saying, 'neighbor'.

"Oh, yeah, like my mum would help you out, you-" Ron sneered.

"Ronald," Mrs. Weasley calmly cut in. "If you close that mouth right now I believe we can all just ignore what you were about to say." Walking to the door, she unlatched it, and held it open for the Malfoys with a smile. "Well, Narcissa, it's been a pleasure. Do stop by again, ah, sometime." The last bit was all forced formality.

Draco exited, nodding stiffly to Mrs. Weasley. Narcissa paused. "Thank you, again, Molly, for all of this. I'll send Cosiky or- I'll deliver that powdered viper fang to you as soon as I can." With a grateful and masked smile, she too nodded and departed into the stormy night. Molly closed the door with obvious relief and an accompanying sigh.

"Mum, what was-" Ron and Ginny both began.

"Ron, Ginny, all of you; learn from tonight." She looked pointedly at them and Professor McGonagall came to mind. "Our enemies don't always have to remain as such. Sometimes, they can be friends."

"Mum," Ron started, "what aren't you-"

"Now," Mrs. Weasley exited briskly, "Who wanted something to snack on?"

Whatever Mrs. Malfoy got from Ron's mum did the trick, because when September the 1st rolled around, Hermione was sure that she saw two sleek blonde heads walking slower than most to accommodate a much weaker looking black-brunette with them. She decided not to say anything to her friends. The mention of Kera only made Harry go grim and speculative, and it was funk she'd rather not have him in on the first day back. Besides, there was something really unnerving about that kid. It was a dark sort of thing, and Hermione didn't want it coming within a mile of any of her friends.

Kera hadn't been to the Weasley's since her recovery, but Mrs. Malfoy had, once more; she had something to deliver. Under the pretext of her illness, Mr. Malfoy had jump on the chance to confine the once rebellious girl to the property. Not that he needed to. Weaken in her new kitten state, Kera barely even thought anymore, let alone went anywhere. She just found it easier to do whatever anyone told her to do, and leave it at that, no questions asked. It was a situation that seemed to suit all parties on the train.


	7. All Over Again

Chapter 7: All Over Again

"Alright, Kera, here's how this is going to. You're going to come with me to where my friends are. Then, whatever anyone tells you to do, you're going to do it. When we want a snack, I expect to see your money paying for it. Maybe, just maybe, we'll share some with you. But, under no circumstances will I want to hear any back sass, rude remarks, comments, utterances, noises, protests, spells, impertinence, protests, or anything else of the like. Got it?"

"Sure. Okay." Kera was much to tired and out of sorts to be disturbed in the slightest by the horrifying thought of spending her day with Julia and her new 'friends'.

Of course, Julia was quite alright with this. She was really starting to enjoy this new Kera; she was quite, obedient, and, best of all, had a newfound inclination for tripping over anything and everything. Sadly, it seemed her brother didn't agree with her. He was troubled, in a disturbing way, by the absence of the old, insulting Kera who so boldly took whatever he said and tossed it back into his face. The new version was a house-elf; he'd been waiting at least a month now for the opportunity to find out what joke she was playing. So, there was no question of who Kera would be going with.

"Julia, shut up. Kera's 16 and she's here to go to school; not be your freaking maid. Now, get going." He pushed her down the train hall.

"Hey, you're not the boss of me!" she sneered.

Draco bent over and got right in his sister's face. Kera, who normally would have said something, was silent. "Actually," he breathed, "I believe, being a prefect, I am. Now, go!" Julia scampered off with a sullen look.

"Okay, come on. Kera?" He snapped his fingers in front of blank eyes. "Kera, come on. I need to show where you're going to go for the trip. Ugh." Since she showed no signs of responding, Malfoy took her hand. He shivered. She was freezing.

Kera walked obediently behind him, with her eyes down, but still managed to trip. "You freaking invalid!" Draco cursed. What was wrong with her? She'd kept mostly out of his way since she'd been sick, and now, the first time they were alone in a month, he got to find out that this was no joke. At least, if it was, no one was laughing. "Kera, whatever game you're playing, I want you to stop acting like this. Now." He glared at her.

Suddenly, her eyes became clearer, and more focused. "Huh?" She looked around. "I feel so woozy… where are we? Are we moving?"

"I should hope so," he sneered. "Considering this is the Hogwarts' Express."

"Hogwarts' Express… what day is it?"

"September the 1st. What stupid act are you playing at, girl?"

"I don't know… have I been sick?"

"Only for the past six weeks, moron."

"Oh… that would explain why I feel like fainting... ugh." Her eyes slid out of focus, but then shuttered back. "You're holding my hand. Is this some kind of joke?"

He sighed with relief and dropped her hand. "Just trying to help," he retorted angrily, but softened his voice at the last minute to make it nicer.

"Well don't. Now, are we supposed to sit in the hall all day?"

He helped her up, and opened the compartment door.

Grunts reached their ears. Inside, seated rather smugly, were an odd assortment of Slytherins referred to, very loosely, as the Death Children Club. One, a revolting but pretty girl their age, leapt up. "Oh, Draco," she simpered. "I've really missed you the whole summer. Pookie, why didn't you write?" When she said that, Kera let a snort of merriment slip out. The girl rounded on her. "And who is this? My, aren't you a bit old to be just starting out? Take a swig a growth potion sometime?"

Kera, who was, at the moment, roughly the same height as her opponent, straighten up, giving her a good five inches to the advantage. The girl faltered slightly. "My name is Kera," It came out as a whisper, but not from fear. "I was told that the Slytherin House, especially in this compartment, prided itself on… pure-blood." She turned amber eyes on the girl, who gave the tiniest whimper. "I suppose I shall have to check my sources next time." Her fingers flex, and, in the compartment next to their, someone's can exploded. Then, as if nothing had happened, she took an available seat by the window with an exhausted sigh.

"Okay then, Kera, stay here until I get back." When he received a stiff nod in reply, he turned to the girl, who attitude was quickly recovering. "Pansy, the prefects are supposed to be meeting. Let's go." She followed him with a sneer at Kera.

The moment Pansy and Draco left, the remaining Slytherins burst out laughing. Some turned to Kera, and found the girl already fast asleep. That was one powerful hex. It couldn't have been easy to make a strange, swirling tattoo along someone's exposed back bearing a number and: **For a good time, ask for Pansy.**

"So, Draco, who's the new wench?" Pansy asked sweetly once she recoiled in her seat. For good measure, since something on her back was apparently so funny (no one would say what), she was now in a black leather jacket. Draco was languishing next to her, with her head in his lap. Kera was still dozing. The others looked expectant.

"Hmmm?" His eyes opened lazily. "Oh, Kera? She's a servant for the family."

"But we never saw her-" Crabbe began thickly.

"Of course you didn't," Malfoy cut him off. "She was accompanying my sister, Julia, through her days at boarding school. Since Julia's starting here, so is she. Besides, you're not supposed to see a good servant."

"But, Draco, I see her," a girl in the back gave a merry laugh. "Why is she with us? Won't they stick her with the rest of the first years?"

"Why would they? I said she wasn't at Hogwarts; that doesn't mean she doesn't know magic. The girl's a sorceress. She'd have to be, to handle my sister."

"Now Draco," Pansy sat, and looked at him pointedly. "I've been over to your manor many times with my family. You can't honestly expect me to believe that you get a strong, capable sorceress in your staff, and your parents not only send her to a boarding school with your sister, but neglect to tell anyone else about it? What's she really doing here?"

Draco looked at all of them with a smile, then sneered, "If you were supposed to know, then someone would've told you by now." He sat back a firmly closed his eyes.

"That's what I thought," Pansy told him, satisfied. She had no clue what Draco was talking about, but if it was what she thought it would be, then she might end up enjoying Kera more than she'd expected to. At least she wasn't Draco's new girlfriend. Pansy had been afraid of being dumped ever since she got caught kissing some third-year, and his friend.

* * *

Meanwhile, a car down, in one compartment, no one was talking. Harry was in an inescapable funk, and no one was quite sure why. So, with rain coming down in sheets on either side of the car, Hermione, Ron, Ginny, Luna, and Neville sat doing the own, silent, thing.

Harry was glad it was so bleak, so stormy outside. It matched his mood quite nicely. It was astounding how a simple thing like somebody's large black dog could set him off like this. The moment kept replaying itself in his head, and there was nothing he could do to stop it. While coming to Hogwarts was normally fairly joyful, he imagined that no dementor could go hungry in here. What he needed, was a distraction.

But distractions came harder and harder to the Boy Who Lived these days. If he wasn't thinking about Sirius, he was obsessing about Voldemort, trying to plan ahead for the next attack. It was almost as if Harry wanted to die, and that was why he was forced to take the wizard's version of an antidepressant everyday. That, or try to throw himself in front of something very heavy going very fast, like he'd almost done in the one week he'd spent at the Dursley's. Good thing Aunt Petunia still kept a shaky correspondence with Albus Dumbledore.

"So, Luna, do anything interesting over the summer?" Ginny asked warily. No telling what might be the reply.

"Oh, well, you know, spent time around the house, kept a look-out for crushed-coral longspurs, that sort of thing. You?"

"Oh nothing really. I made a very, erm, interesting acquaintance this summer." Behind Luna, Hermione was mouthing to Ron, "Crushed-coral longspurs actually exist," with a dumfounded look on her face.

"Oh, really?" Neville, too, had decided to join in. "Who?"

"Her name's Kera. She's your age Neville, and seems pretty nice. That's about all of it."

"And she works for the Malfoy's. Not that that's big or anything." Harry's sarcasm rang out.

Luna and Neville both stared. Ginny retorted angrily, "Why the hell do you care? So, okay, she's creepy as heck and I doubt she's ever touched a wand in her life, but still, really!"

"Ginny, Kera isn't what she seems!"

"And you know this how?"

"BECAUSE MY MIND IS STILL HOOKED UP WITH VOLDEMORT'S, ALRIGHT? AND HE GETS HAPPY WHEN SHE'S AROUND, THAT'S WHY!"

Ginny glared at him, "Just because you think you might have seen her in one of your wack job dreams doesn't mean the rest of us are blind. You've been wrong more than once." She got up, and strode over to the door. "I'm out of here," she hissed, and slammed the door as she exited.

"Well," Hermione sighed," that went… well."

Harry turned on her. "What are you talking about?"

"Oh Harry, don't act so innocent. She was just trying to start a conversation, and then you go and jump down her throat about it. Very sociable."

"Hermione, you know how I-"

"No, Harry, I don't. So, you might have had a dream about her. What does that point to about her?" Neville and Luna, uncomfortable, exited quickly. "So far, Kera hasn't shown a thing that would prove you right. In fact, so far she's been pretty damn nice. So the girl's working for the Malfoy's. Why does it matter?"

"May I remind you that you just said, 'the Malfoy's'."

"Yes, I did. May I also remind you that Ginny told us a while back that the Malfoy's are Kera's only family. And she doesn't seem too fond of them."

"So?"

"Sirius didn't like his family either."

Harry and Ron both stared at her. Ron was fervently shaking his head at her, but Harry was just staring. Hermione got up quickly. "I'm going to go find Ginny. I'll be back after I patrol." She dashed through the now open compartment door.

Harry glared at Ron. "Care to add on?"

Ron shook his head. "No, mate, I'm not going to say a thing," he sighed.

"Why do they care so much about that girl?"

"Huh?" Ron rubbed his eyes.

"Ron, have you been practicing Quidditch at night again?"

"Well… you know… getting in shape for the season. I figured you needed your sleep or I would've asked you to join in."

Harry felt grateful, "Well, next time, just ask. I'd love to."

"Harry, do you know what I think?"

"No, enlighten me."

"I think you think that the girls are abandoning you for my new neighbor."

"Yeah, it's starting to feel like that."

Ron laughed, but it was an exhausted one. "Harry, Ginny got mad at you because for the past to month she, along with everyone else, has been trying to get you out of what she refers to as the ' Potter funk'. Now, I know you're depressed, but you can't keep jumping on us. We're you're friends. Hermione got mad when you jump on Ginny. Both of us hoped that maybe you'd snap out of it, but I know she's tired of waiting."

"Waiting for what?"

"Waiting for you, Harry. Waiting for the Harry Sirius was proud of to come back." Ron sat back in his chair.

Harry didn't say a word. Ron was probably quoting Hermione, like he did do sometimes, but the words had a ring of truth to them. Ever since Sirius had gone, the old Harry seemed to slip away, to be replaced with a much more miserable version of his former self. The two boys sat in silence like that for several long moments, until Hermione re-entered, with Ginny following. Her eyes were red-rimmed. Harry looked down at his feet, and so did she. They both murmured, "Sorry." Hermione sighed and Ron said, "Anyone up for a game of Exploding Snap?"

* * *

At the feast that night, everything went as usual, with one exception. Kera, this being her first official year, was in line with the first years, towering over them. Professor McGonagall, stern as ever, went down the list until she arrived at: "Carutasu, Kerana," she called, omitted the rather confusing 'ouit' piece of her name.

Kera approached slowly, and plopped the hat on her head. She hoped no one could hear what the hat said to her.

_So,_ it told her, _Carutasu, eh? A bit big for your first year here, aren't you? Well, let's see what we have. Hmmm, an interesting mind; quick, capable, full of things already. You've clearly studied somewhere else as well. Loyalty? Enough of it and you've got an interesting sort of bravery. Okay then._

"_GR-"_

_Wait. What's this? There's darkness in you, child, the likes of which I've not seen in a good while. What a strange combination for a young woman. But don't worry, deary, I know exactly where you belong!_

"_SLYTHERIN!"_

Kera took the hat off, highly unnerved, and walked over to her new house. From the Gryffindor table, she could she Ginny and her friends staring at her. She swallowed. Somewhere in the back of her mind, something was seething, and Kera was at a blank as to what it was.

Like most kids who are new, Kera was at a loss as to where she should sit. So, she did the only thing she could think of; walk towards who look a least at little lost, like her. That meant, with the rest of the first years. And that's exactly what she did. She sat.

"Who're you?" A pale and swarthy boy peered at her from across the table. He had a permanent sneer etched upon his features, and he made the most of it when talking to first years.

"Carutasu, Kerana. Or, Keranouita, if you prefer. Weren't you listening?" She raised a singular eyebrow in his direction.

The boy's next words were overpowered by Dumbledore, who chose to say, for this years opening speech, "Eat!" He had already introduced the newest teacher to the line-up, a smiling woman named Professor Sharper.

Kera, whose short stay in the Caru city had prepared her for food that 'magically' appeared, merely asked, "What was that?" while first years gasped around her.

"I said, 'Aren't you a bit big for an eleven-year-old?'"

"Kid, how old are you?"

"Fourteen, why?"

Kera gave a tiny smile. "Well, the reason I'm so big is because I've been around on Earth for a good two years longer than you. That does, at this age, tend to make me a taller person."

He snorted. "What have your person been doing with you all this time. I mean, do you know anything?"

Eyes sharpening, Kera replied, "Yeah, I know quite a bit. See, among other things, my parent spent her time, before she died, teaching me how to use magic to calm a horse, in case it's about to take off one of our rude buyer's eleven digits. If they're male, that is. Females only have ten, you see." Without another word to the boy, Kera turned to someone on her right. "Could you pass me a baked potato? I'm starved."

While Kera dug in the boy just sat with a puzzled look on his face. After a minute, he began to make his selections, but it was only after his mouth was full of mash potatoes that he realized what she was saying. He laughed, and a rather large number of kids were sprayed with mash potatoes. "I get it," he chortled. "You're a pretty funny girl. Or rather," he raised his eyebrows, more than a bit suggestively, "a pretty, funny girl. I'm Mitchell. Mitchell Calverton. Welcome to Hogwarts, Kera." He sounded like he was savoring her name.

Kera inwardly shuddered, but gave a polite smile and took the offered hand. "Charmed," she replied, and didn't speak at all the rest of the evening.

* * *

Draco Malfoy had avoided her the evening before, and so Kera, who despised being ignored, even by her enemies, decided to do something about it. Even if it was just to get help finding classes. So, she came in early to the Great Hall Monday morning, clutching her schedule.

It had occurred to her last night that there seemed to be some kind of pecking order at the Slytherin table, at least when it came to seating. The older, or higher up, you were, the closer you sat to the corner, and away the farther away from the more inferior wizards in the other houses. It was sad, really, but now Kera was going to use it to her advantage.

She sat down where she guessed the six years would sit, and waited. It paid off. Within ten minutes, Draco strode in, follow closely by his two gorillas. And Kera was sitting directly across from them, right next to the master. Unsure, Crabbe and Goyle just shifted and cracked their knuckles threateningly. Kera breathed in, "You want to call off the pompous lap dogs, Draco? I come in peace, but only because it's too early to do magic."

He shrugged and looked at them. They sat, and he did the same, right next to her. "That's Pansy's seat, you know," he told her, conversationally, munching on toast.

Kera shrugged and added more Ketchup (A/N And now I can hear the screams of 'CATSUP!' from the audience, but you guys are looking at an ex-Pittsburgher, so keep that to yourself.) to her egg pile. "Do I care? That girl is so great with design; I thought I just had to repay her. Oh, remind me to thank your mom for the hand-me-downs. They fit quite nicely, oddly enough."

Draco looked at her. They did look at bit out of style, but were quite becoming for her. "Whatever. Interesting trick you played on her. Nice style."

That was the oddest compliment she'd ever gotten, and was quite honest about it. "That was the worst compliment anyone's ever given me, including that weird fourth year last night. But, aren't you her 'pookie'?"

Draco flinched at the name. "Yeah, around our parents and peers. Oh, and in her dreams. Now- wait, were you talking about-oh…"

"Mitchell Calverton?"

"Yeah, him. Don't go near him."

"Why not?" She was curious.

He glanced at her. "Hey, what happened to not talking to me?"

She smiled; she'd been ignoring him for as long as possible, but at least this was off-handedly engaging. "Eh… you're the only person I know."

"What about Saint Potter and his motley crew?"

She frowned at him and he smiled, pleased that she wasn't. "Oh, yeah, I'm sure they'd love to hang out with a Slytherin in between classes. Why shouldn't I go out with him? I'm a big girl." She raised both her eyebrows this time.

He grinned. "Yeah, well, big you may be, but he dated a sixth year last year, and she got knocked up. It looks like she didn't come back this year. Oh, hello Pansy. I believe you've met my servant, Kera."

Kera turned around and gave her politest smile to the pretty pug, who sneered at her. She looked so put out, standing behind them, that Kera felt compelled to ask, "May I help you?" In the strange and inexplicable tones phone receptionists have.

"Yeah, you can help me by getting out of my seat."

Kera looked around a bit. "'Your seat'? I didn't see anything that said it was yours. Why don't you get a new seat? Oh, right, your 'pookie'. Well, unfortunately, I'm talking to him. So, unless you have the inability to kiss on the right as easily as you do the left, and if you can't I feel terrible for you, I believe there's an available seat on the other side." Pansy continued to glare at her.

"The other side is where my friend Millicent sits," she replied, pouting, giving Draco a simpering look. He just sat back to watch the fun.

"Well, if she's as good a friend as you're making her sound, then I doubt she'll mind moving over a bit. Besides, why would you want your friend sitting on his other side? I'm sure you know how much a boy's eye can wander." Millicent walked, skulked really, into the room. "Ahhhh, that would explain why you prefer to have her sit there. Well, Pansy," she smiled. "If it makes you feel better I could no more have romantic feelings for your boyfriend that I could a Friskin Mosquito."

A couple of first years chortled. Pansy glared at them, then quickly sat down on Draco's other side. She gave him a huge kiss; when he turned to pick up his conversation, he was grimacing. "Oh, Draco, I hope you don't give her that face," Kera whispered.

He grinned, and replied, "No way. It's my special face, saved just for you."

She smiled back, then said, "Why, Draco Malfoy, don't let Pansy hear you talk like that; it might hurt her feelings. Besides, wand less I may be, but I can still curse your eyeballs right into the morning jam." This was very disturbing. Didn't she hate everything that breathed in his household? Yet, after about two months of ignoring one another, here they were, having a perfectly civil and actually amusing conversation. Of course, it was fine for the time being. She had the sinking suspicion Ginny wouldn't be talking to her for awhile.

Them the mail came; to Kera surprise a large barn owl landed with a thin package. "Oh, what's this?" she questioned as she ripped open the package. There it lay; her new wand. Inside was a note:

* * *

_Ms. Carutasu,_

_I am delighted to find you finally in need of a wand. Don't worry; your mother brought you in when you were four to pick out this particular wand 'just in case'. She said that I would be informed of when to send it. So, here it is. One wand, 12 ½ inches, with the feather of a griffin, and made from willow wood. Made your spells be well cast!_

_Sincerely,_

_Mr. Ollivander

* * *

_

Kera looked at it. It was beautiful, elegant, and looked brand new, even though she knew it was at least twelve years old. "So, I suppose now you can curse my eyeball into the jam with a wand as well." Draco was reading over her shoulder. "Your mum seemed prepared for just about anything; it's a nice wand, too."

"Yeah, she was," Kera murmured. Something about this wand had sparked her memory. A faint image of her mother, younger, laughing, surfaced in her mind. It was from a shop, possibly the same one in which they found her wand. Her mother had Kera's face, and the same curls that christened her daughter's head fell around her own face. But, the eye's were larger than life, the hair was a different color, the posture more upright, and the scars more livid. They leapt out of her face and at the curious man who ran the shop. Kera held on to one calloused hand. "Keran-outa? Keranouita Carutasu?"

A man's voice broke through. Kera snapped back, to find herself staring at a hook-nosed man with long, somewhat ragged looking hair, but at the same time greasy. "Ms. Carutasu?"

She shook her head slightly. "Ah, then do you possibly know where she is?"

Kera slapped her own cold hand to her face. "I'm sorry- err- sir, I'm Keranouita- Kera, actually. Can I help you?"

"Yes," he replied, somewhat contemptuously. "I'm Professor Snape, your head."

"Oh, yeah, I remember. I mean, yes sir?"

He sighed. "Ms. Carutasu, I came to give you your schedule. You see, you have a very- unique one. Here." He handed her a paper. She stared at it, and her brow furrowed.

"But, sir, this can't be right. You have me talking classes with the first year Slytherins." Behind her, Draco choked on his marmalade.

"Exactly." He took the paper and gave it a tap with his wand, muttering something. "Here you go."

Kera took the paper, and the words began to shift like insects until they had rearranged themselves on the paper in a new pattern. Snape was curious to see this paper. A few of the other staff members had been placing bets on how far flung down she would be in her classes. Only McGonagall and, though he'd never admit it, Snape, had any high hopes for her. They had both seen her mother, Katriona, or Katty, as she was known then, at work in her school years. And, when he took the paper back, he wasn't disappointed. Care of Magical Creatures, Transfiguration, Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Potions; all to be taken at sixth-year level. There were only two anomalies. One class period was free, and her Charms class was at seventh-year level. "So," she began, "what do I do with a free period?"

"I'm guessing there are certain, easy-to-fix holes in your education. You see, this paper looks at your head and decides what classes you should be in. You've done well, for no formal education."

"Oh, yeah," she replied. "There are holes, alright. Like, um, I can't fly a broom. And my history's not so great. Stuff like that."

"Easy enough to fix," he replied distractedly. "Tell me, Kera, is there a reason the paper would have put you a year ahead in charms?"

"Oh," Kera smiled. "That's easy sir. I know lots of charms! It's just like with sorcery, only you say the words aloud in stead of in your head and you use a wand in place of your hands. My mum ran out of charms to teach me when I was ten. I love charms."

"Very nice," he told her. Another spellcaster. He loathed the particularly good ones; they were always useless at potions. (A/N: This is post-HBP, but the idea was created long before, so, oh well, too bad, no soup for you!)

"Thank you, sir, can I have my paper?" she asked. He gave it to her and strode off to tell Professor Sinistra that she owed Professor Sharper two galleons.

"Well, then," she got up, "I really should be going."

Draco got up. "You going back to the common room? I need to get my stuff." He had a bag, but Kera saw the excuse to get away from someone he hated even more than her. Besides, she would need a guide anyway in the place. "Yeah sure."

As they left the Great Hall, it hit Kera that she had, for once in her life, had a lengthy, fun, and even pleasant conversation with the boy not only she but the only other people she really knew here hated. "Hey Draco?"

"Yeah?" He was smiling. It was good to have a neither pointless nor disgusting conversation with someone for once.

"This conversation, this morning? It never happened," she told him.

"Oh, I know." He was still smiling. He just hoped they would have more imaginary conversations in the future. It was nice to see Pansy so pissed off she couldn't even see straight. "So, let me guess. You need a guide around this rat hole."

"You better believe it. And I might need some help with the particularly big rats at our table." So the guy wasn't that bad. Once you took a tenth good look at him. Kera twirled her new wand in front of her face. She had a good feeling; the best she'd had since her mum had died five years ago. Then, she sneezed violently.

Back in the Great Hall, at the Gryffindor table, a very tired Harry Potter's elbow collapsed under him, sinking his robes deep into a buttery mess.


	8. Harry Potter and the Terrible, Horrib

Chapter 8: Harry Potter and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good Very Bad Day

"Damn!" Harry swore. Today, for the hour he'd been awake for, had been horrible beyond comprehension. It seemed as if the whole world was against him. In fact, so far his entire time at Hogwarts felt like being back in the Dursley's closet 24/7 again. So far today he'd bashed his head against a cabinet, experienced another bloody dream of a triumphant Voldemort, forgotten it when he nearly strangled himself with his own sheets, found Pig's dropping all over the robes he was going to wear, stubbed five different toes six times, been run into by not only Hermione and Ron but Neville as well, and now this.

"Um, Harry, can I have the butter?" Ginny grimaced. No way was that stuff going on anyone's toast now. Such a waste. She was half tempted to keep it and later sell it on wizard's e-bay, but, as that looked a bit stalker-esk, she decided against it.

He handed it over, and she quickly placed it under several plates. There was some girl, at little way down the table, who was eyeing the butter with a curiously dreamy expression on her face. Hermione asked him kindly, "Not a good day so far?"

For a reply, Harry merely gave a loud groan. "Don't talk to me about 'not good days'. This sucks."

"Oh come on Harry. Everyone has bad days, and you seem to be a little off your quota for the beginning of the year. Buck up!"

"Did you just tell me to buck up?"

"Umm," Hermione blushed. Ron cut in. "Here Harry let me help you with that." He muttered something under his breath. A spray of cold water covered Harry's already well greased elbow. "Opps."

Dennis Creevey bounded over. Smiling at Harry, the third-year pulled a piece of toast and the accompanying knife. He began to eagerly remove the offending condiment from the robes and transfer it to his own food. He took a huge bite. "Thanks Harry, that was delicious. We seemed to have run out of butter."

Across the table, Hermione groaned. "I think I'm going to be sick."

Ginny was looking a bit green. Harry stood up. "Let's get going. Everyone have their schedules?" They all nodded. Harry reflected on how much like a dumb gang leader he felt. Bit like Malfoy and his idiot 'friends', really. Of course, when he thought of his father's 'gang' , it was easier to deal with. He'd heard that they were much better friends than anyone could ever hope to be, especially his dad and Sirius. Sirius… Harry quickly tried to mask his emotions as they all exited. Except for Dennis, who was still eating. Really, there was no need to alarm anybody, or to be force fed another slime potion to keep him from taking a leap.

"Hey, where's Ginny?" Ron was spacing, almost to a pot-head level, but he still was always quick to notice when his precious sister was gone. They turned, close to the door.

Ginny was back at the table. Clinging to her leg was the butter dish girl. "Please! Please! I'll pay you! Just tell me what you did with it!"

Ginny finally squirmed out of her grasp. "What are you talking about?" she panted.

"The butter! Where is it? I need it!" She spotted Harry as Ginny scrambled away. "Harry! Harry, I love you! Be mine!" Her face was red.

"Let's get out of here," Ginny gasped when she reached them. They fled.

* * *

The first class of the day, Charms, was relatively hazard-free. The worst that happened was Harry getting stabbed by Ron's wayward wand. It seemed to have a mind of its own (and psychopath's mind to boot) and had decided to cause as much pain as possible until Hermione froze it. This, though the wand had attempted to strangle its owner, made Ron strangely angry with her.

So, everyone arrived to Potions in a relatively quiet mood. Harry, however, was happy; he'd thought of a way to make Ron and Hermione talk to each other. But first, he had to find Kera.

Harry didn't have to wait long. Snape was strangely absent from his room, and as the students began to congregate outside, Pansy came to the door with a furious expression on her face. Why came soon after. First there were Crabbe and Goyle, dumb as ever, but more confused and lost. They didn't belong here anymore. Then, Kera came around the corner, talking with none other than Malfoy. Harry's eyes nearly skydived straight out of his sockets singing "My Bonny Lies over the Ocean".

Kera had her arms firmly over her bag, but she was giving a frustrated smile. Malfoy, on the other hand, was grinning. As they past Harry heard a brief snatch of their conversation. "Draco, is it that hard to understand? It's okay to crack jokes occasionally, but really, these teachers know a hell of a lot more than we ever will about their subjects, and we should try to listen. All you do is talk to Crabbe and Goyle."

"Hey, servant girl," he chuckled, "half the time I'm trying to explain what the teacher just said to those two, not telling them jokes." He put a hand lightly on her shoulder.

She shrugged it off with a frown. "'Servant girl'? What is that, a pet name? Your girlfriend is watching us, you know." And she was. Pansy, next to the goon squad, could do nothing but helplessly glare.

"I suppose you're right, and maybe I don't give a damn," he replied, all the while not looking once at his other friends.

"Blimey," whispered Ron. "Kera-"

Hermione continued, "- and Draco-"

"-together?" They both looked at each other, and then remembered they weren't talking.

Snape strode up, opened the door, and told them to all shut up and get in. "Just get in partners," was all he said, before sighing, "Another year of all this." It was at the headmaster's explicit request that several students, in light of certain circumstances, be allowed into his class despite the 'Acceptable' they received. Two of his favorite students were on that special list. You win a few, you lose a lot.

Kera went in and sat next to Draco. Pansy was on his other side. There were only a set of two seats and one next to Kera. Intent on following through with his plan and completely ignore the disturbed feeling in his gut, Harry took the latter. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Potter?" Malfoy stared disbelieving. "Go back to your own friends. You can't sit here. Beside, what does a saint like you want with us evil Slytherin deamon children?"

Kera sighed. "Draco, don't be an idiot. Of course he can; there's a seat. Besides, you should work with Pansy," she told him firmly. Pansy looked at her with wide eyes. Draco raised an eyebrow. Kera turned to Harry, "Come on, Harry, sit down, and ignore the slimy ferret over there. He hasn't taken his happy pills yet this morning. I can work with you today; but I warn you, I probably know bull compared to you guys." Over her shoulder Malfoy muttered, "My happy pill tends to be getting away from my dear pookie." And vowed that would have to happen ASAP.

He sat, relieved and confused. Just like last time and the times before, Harry got a strange feeling that he should remember her from somewhere, and, for the first time, a feeling of danger. But she just gave him a smile, and he sat down. "So, everyone in here got an 'O' in potions?" she asked.

"Actually…" Actually, it had been a huge scandal. One of the graders, a batty old with named Miranda Berths had gone off her rocker and begun to down grade everyone she graded, claiming they were Death Eaters in disguise at a later date. So, Harry, Ron, and one or two other students who had been graded in Potions had been given the benefit of the doubt on their scores. He also had a suspicion that Dumbledore, in light of certain circumstances… well, that he'd put in a good word or two.

Once he had explained all of this to her She smiled. "Well, that's just weird. I mean, how could you guys be Death Eaters. After all, I've never heard of a recruit under 17. Shall we?" Both Malfoy and Harry looked at her oddly, but neither one decided to say anything. Snape had already put the instructions on the board. The potion for today was a truth serum, of sorts. It would make the drinker proclaim what their thoughts were, inventively.

"Lovely," grunted Harry.

"Yeah, sure," she replied.

The potion took about an hour to make. Oddly, between the two of them, it was one of the easiest things he'd ever made. It was neon green and humming slightly. Harry looked at it, untrusting. "Are you sure everyone else's are like this?"

"Yeah. Besides, Snape said it should look like toxic waste."

"Does toxic waste usually look like this?"

"You've never seen a movie before, have you?" She sighed. "Having fun, Draco?"

He just raised his eyebrows. She laughed and gave him a pat on the back. Harry glared. "Why do you hate him so much?" she whispered. She hated people who hated people for no reason. It got a little complicated occasionally, but heck, it was her dharma; to make the world a more friendly place. You had to act like that where she came from.

"Why do you like him? He's a jerk." This came equally inaudible.

"I'm friends with him, just like I am with you." She frowned.

"It's not the same. You'll just be another notch for him."

"Harry, drink your potion," was all she replied, but Harry was pleased to see her looking thoughtful. Maybe all those creepy Voldemort dreams weren't what they were cracked up to be.

Of course, he wasn't sure why he cared. So they liked each other. Big deal. Malfoy was a jerk, but if Kera had a thing for that sort of guy, why should it be his freaking problem? He had two interesting conversations with her. That didn't make them friends, and she still freaked him out, no matter what he was starting to think. Harry took a long swig of his potion, about the same time. Then he began to sing. "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me. Let there be peace on Earth…" He looked around, and saw most of the class was in song as well.

Pansy was humming some sort of stripper tune and dancing around her stool with a horrified expression. Malfoy was softly singing "I'm Too Sexy" while doing the Macarena. Ron screeched, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight", while Hermione sung, "Why do you do what you do to me baby," to him. One boy had the sound of a transistor radio coming from him. In the midst of it all, Kera had yet to drink her potion. "Drink it," Harry said around the words of his own song.

She shrugged innocently and took a long gulp. Kera sat for a little while longer, then, "ATCHOO!"

"That was it?" he forced the words out. Almost everyone was out of their seats by now.

"I can try again," she told him, and took another drink. She got up, and began twirling. "I feel pretty, oh so pretty, I feel pretty and witty and gay!" Then, another sneeze. Next thing anyone knew, Kera had been picked up by some invisible force, a force that had deposited her on Draco. Snape strode over. "Are you two all right?" They both nodded. Kera landed with her head in Draco's lap, a position she quickly got up from.

Most everyone was back in control, and now they were all laughing; at Snape. His hair had turned a violent, hot, neon pink. He spun around, looking for the source of everyone's amusement, before realizing what it was. "Who did this?" he hissed.

A pale, black-haired Ravenclaw raised her hand. "Please, sir," she whispered, "it happened right after that girl sneezed. She pointed a shaky hand at Kera.

"Did you do this, Ms. Carutasu?" he turned on her, trying to stare her down.

She swallowed and shook her head. "I don't think so, Professor."

"You don't think so?"

"Well, I don't sneeze very often. In fact, I think this morning is the third day of my life that I've sneezed in. So, I'm not really sure."

"Ms. Carutasu that is the worst excuse I've ever heard. Can you fix this?" His voice was too calm, too soft.

"I don't think so."

"Fine. Detention, next Saturday. I want a fourteen inch essay on how what you experienced today was an example of the effects of truth serum, do next class. You're dismissed."

"Yes. A break," Kera smiled. So what if she had to do some friggin' essay? Whoever did that to Snape must have been bloody brilliant. Maybe she could try it some time.

"Why'd you sneeze?" Harry asked as they packed up. Hermione and Ron had disappeared, beaming at each other as they exited.

"Dunno. Guess I was thinking about sneezing. But, I swear I was thinking about my new wand. Oh well, maybe it was subconscious, or something. 'Let There Be Peace on Earth'?"

"Ron and Hermione."

"Oh, so that's the real reason you decided to work with me. I knew you didn't like me that much." She grinned and headed for the door. He caught up.

"What was with the other song?"

"I was thinking of the most random thing I could do. See you later, Sagi's Hope." She left.

Sagi's Hope?

* * *

Ginny ran into Kera at the library. Her brown head was bent over Snape's essay when she came in. She was in one of the smallest corner tables, away from the soft and quiet murmurings of everyone else. It was after dinner, and already growing quite dark. At the window next to her, a tree branch clattered against the window, reaching in vain for the soft glow of the lamplight. Ginny approached. "May I?"

Kera looked up; brow furrowed in concentration, then saw who it was. "Of course. I need a little break anyway before I dive into the conclusion." She was also trying to avoid thinking about today. Her classes had definitely gone well enough, but after Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Charms, Kera had been paralyzed by long and drawn out sneezing fits. There must have been several windows open, because violent winds always began to blow, scattering things everywhere. One time, even a window had broken, and, when Kera repaired it with sorcery, she felt so dizzy she almost collapsed with a terrible pain in her hands, a strange grim laugh ringing in her ears. She'd been found once by Draco, another time by some seventh year girl named Cho Chang, or something. Both times, she'd flatly refused to go to the nurse, but it didn't feel like her voice.

Ginny took a seat and began to remove everything from her bag. "I heard you're the reason Snape looks like a Drag Queen incognito." (A/N: I'm sorry, that was mean of me. Drag Queens are way too good looking to compare with him. WAAAAAYYYYY too good looking)

She smiled, then dropped it. "I guess. Did you also hear he gave me a detention because I wasn't actually sure if it was me or not?"

"It could have been worse."

"Yeah, but I only like to be punished when I know for sure that it was me that did it. Then the punishment is easier. Besides, I know that if it had been a Hufflepuff, or a Gryffindor, they'd be looking at a month. He plays favorites big time."

Ginny showed her a shrug. "Oh well; the other teachers do the same. I remember McGonagall caught me and Jeff Saunders from Ravenclaw kissing after hours last year; I got a night of detention, he got three. She said he'd led me on. Oh, I also heard from a pretty reliable source you're getting very friendly with a certain Slytherin. What are you doing with in ten feet of the pug-tastic girl?"

"Hey, if you're saying I'm even civil to Pansy, your source is on pot."

"What's pot- never mind, tell me later. What about Malfoy?"

Kera looked at the redhead. "Why do you guys call him that? I know he doesn't like you, but Ginny, that kid is alone in his House's year. He's the only one who actually thinks. He hangs out with total morons who will probably get into fistfights at least once a week when they leave school. His dad's a bastard, his sister's a bitch, and his mother can hardly get out from under either of their thumbs. And then there's Pansy-" Kera's voice was getting a bit high-toned.

"Okay, okay," she held up her hands. "I get it; tender subject. Harry did say you seemed close."

Kera rolled her eyes. "He's someone to talk to."

"Okay, we'll drop it. So, did you hear about Neville and Cho?"

She looked at her. "Who?"

"Neville Longbottom and Cho Chang. Neville's a friend of mine, and Cho and Harry have a history. My brother walked in on them in an empty classroom during break, and found them practically sucking the lips off each other!"

Kera grimaced. "Was Harry mad?"

"Well… he was, a little bit, until Neville told Hermione. He was so excited. It turns out, Cho father got bitten by some sort of strange, hybrid pixies, and was in the hospital with strange symptoms. Cho ran into Neville there, and she was so happy to see him. In fact, it turns out that they've been seeing each other ever since then. It was really sweet, and everyone's really happy for them."

Kera nodded. "Good luck to them, then."

Suddenly, a sharp gust of wind blew a particularly sharp branch into the window. It broke with a loud crash. Cold air clawed at both girls, making their muscles harden and their teeth clatter together. "Ginny, it's _repairo_, right?" she asked right next to her shorter friend. Ginny nodded and Kera exclaimed, "_Repairo_!" The shattered glass flew back into place and fixed itself once more.

"Thanks," said Ginny. Kera sneezed in reply.

They both began to collect their respective papers. Then, Ginny gasped, "Kera, your paper!"

Next to her, a small orange glow had merrily sprung up at the corner of her essay. It burned happily, just waiting for the chance to gorge on all the delicious food surrounding it, first chance it got. But, Kera refused to let that be an option. She seized the paper and blew as hard as she could. With a sigh of regret, it left this world. But now, her paper was singed to a recognizable point. "Crap, I can't hand this in to Snape now."

"Just repair it. It only got one or two words; a repairing spell of some sort should bring them back with the paper," Ginny told her helpfully. "Good thing Madame Pince didn't see that flame."

Kera gave her her most grateful smile, and then too late began to repair it with sorcery. Before she could stop herself, she was flung into a sea of dizziness and pain from which there seemed to be no escape. It rushed through her and she felt it slam her down on the ground. She felt like vomiting until there was nothing left inside. Faintly, she felt Ginny feeling her forehead and asking, "Are you alright? Should I help you get to the infirmary?"

Kera shook her head vehemently. She wasn't sure why, but something inside was screaming that if she was taken to the infirmary everything would only get worse for her. Still, she knew that the next best thing was to at least rest. "Ginny," she said, trying to sound as normal as possible, "I just need to get back to my common room. Can you help me?"

Ginny nodded, and she tried to ignore the pain as she was helped up and out. Once in the hall, however, Ginny paused uncertainly, looking at her charge. "Kera, do you know how to get to the Slytherin common room?"

Kera shook her head. "Not from here. If we can get to the Great Hall, I'm pretty sure I can take it from there."

But, once at the Great Hall, Kera didn't have to lead. Draco Malfoy, accompanied by his cronies, came around the corner. "Weasley? Kera? What are you two doing together? And," he noticed how Kera was half slumped up against Ginny, "what's wrong with Kera?"

"I don't know," Ginny tried to keep insane laughter out of her voice, which was much harder than it would have seemed. She couldn't believe ferret boy even remotely cared. "She almost fainted in the library, but doesn't want to go to the infirmary. She asked me to get her back to your common room."

He nodded. His face was twisted with sympathy, admiration, lust, and indifference. "Well, you're in luck. I can take her from here. It's probably a hard enough load for you, anyway." He came up, close enough to Ginny to kiss her, then bent slightly and swooped up Kera. Luckily, he was taller. With the half conscious girl in his arms, he nodded, and turned around. Crabbe and Goyle followed, more confused than ever.

Once they were out of hearing range of anyone, he smiled enthusiastically and told the fast-fading Kera, "You, are my new best friend. You should have told me you were that friends with Ginny." His heart was pounding and her red hair filled his mind. "I've got a plan, Kera, and I know you'll be glad to help."

It was a subtle command the unconscious kid didn't hear.


	9. The Plan Commences

Chapter Nine: The Plan Commences

It was almost four months later when the 'plan' began to take flight. Snow lay thick upon the grounds, Hagrid built several fast and perfect sleds at Kera's request, Harry, after that first day, perked up enormously and was cheerful as a Gryffindor captain could be, especially when all his disturbing dreams subsided, Neville and Cho began to, officially, officially date, Pansy continued to say that Draco was in love with her, Crabbe and Goyle failed to hand in any homework at all, and everyone got into a habit of backing away whenever Kera pulled out her wand. Whenever the wand came out, Kera sneezed. Whenever Kera sneezed, persons or said persons' things went flying; yet still no one knew why. It had, however, earned her a pretty bad squib reputation, and she seemed the only one who wasn't in on the 'joyous' part of the joyous holidays.

Luckily, she could now do sorcery, on the rare occasions the teachers weren't watching. They seemed to think she would grow out of her sneezing habit (except for Snape, with whom she devoted an hour each Saturday morning for detention) and merely tied down any valuables. However, it wasn't the teachers who realized her problem; it was Draco. In a brilliant flash of insight, the boy linked Kera's sudden illness of the first few weeks (A/N: This took awhile to link up with her as well) and was able to give her this simple command. "Kera, I order you to stop getting sick when you use your sorcery." Half the time it worked, and half the time she ended up losing her lunch and gained another reputation for a nice figure. Once in a while, it would be on Ginny or Draco or, even rarer, the Golden Trio, and she would once again flatly refuse to go to the infirmary with that strained voice.

Unfortunately, the damage was already done, and no one believed Kera but Draco and Ginny. Names like 'sneeze bomb', 'the great atchoodini' and, best of all, 'wingardium sneeziosa' began to circulate around the school. Kera took it first with good humor, then with retorts and finally, when she believed no one else was watched, quite misery. The more everyone pressed, the angrier she got, until finally it seemed there were only two students she could talk to, and she rarely had a moment alone with either.

Pansy and her 'girl' friends became the worst offenders. When no one was watching, which was often, they would trip, punch, hex, curse, drench, splatter, poke, bewitch, kick and otherwise torment the girl. In their own defense, Kera got back whenever possible and, bad as her wounds were, she never broke down and fled for the infirmary, though they often did. Anyone who observed the silent blows would never say a word, not even when the first retaliation was launched and the stool pigeon-ing began.

It was on one of these days, almost everyone having gone on holiday the day before, Hermione found Kera, dressed in a muggle's sweatshirt and jeans, with a shuddered half-sob, and brought her to the Gryffindor common room wordlessly. However, they met an obstacle in the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"I'm sorry, but I just don't think I can even let you say the password with her around," said the Fat Lady, indicating Kera.

"Please," plead Hermione, "it's Christmas."

"No, I really don't think I'm allowed to."

"Well," Hermione attempted, "let's just say Kera went down the hall, and just happened to come up at exactly the same moment as you opened, and I invited her in. Would that be alright?"

The Fat Lady pondered this for several long moments. She looked from Hermione, uncertainly, to Kera, distrustfully. "Say, aren't you the one I heard referred to as 'Sneeziosa'?" Kera looked down. She'd been trying to hide her tired and red eyes, and now she muttered something about Slytherin not having a portrait for a reason. The Fat Lady sniffed. "No need to get so uptight about it. I just-"

"Look, can she come in or not?" Hermione tapped a foot impatiently.

"Aren't you a prefect?" the Fat Lady raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, so you know I'd never do anything that would be for the safety of my fellow peers-"

The portrait swung open. Ginny looked up and down the hall. "Hermione, there you are. The boys just sent me out to look for you and- oh, Kera!" She caught one sight of Kera, standing there, with Hermione looking uncertainly at the hole, and clambered out. Hermione spoke at the last moment.

"Wait, Ginny-" she began. But it was too late. Ginny was already out, and the Fat Lady replaced herself with a somewhat satisfied air. Now three girls were stuck outside staring back at her. Ginny opened her mouth to say the password once more, but Hermione gave her a sad shake of the head. "She won't let us in. Something about Kera being a Slytherin, and that sort of crap."

"Young lady," the Fat Lady was clearly scandalized, "this is not crap. This is the safety of your fellow Gryffindors, and I intend to take it quite seriously."

As Kera watched Ginny and Hermione continue to argue with the strange portrait of the unhealthy woman, she took several deep breaths. These were the last of many that began when Kera first sank down in one of the abandoned corridors, to try and calm herself down. She'd seen some amazingly horrendous things in her life, but the unadulterated shunning of her peers was the first to make her break down like this. She had detention from now until spring, from every teacher except Hagrid, thanks to Pansy and her motley crew. To top it all, however, she'd woke this morning to find every piece of witches' clothing, and much of her muggle outfits as well, torn and flung neatly in fluttering rags outside. Forced to rush out in her nightshirt to prevent their disposal, they now occupied a pile in her closet. New cloth would be easy enough to get, but making her robes would take time and fabric did cost something. Still, it was less expensive than a robes shop.

Now she was down-in-the-dirt miserable. While everyone talked joyously of seeing family or going place or staying with friends, Kera found herself crying over something that at any other time of the year she would avoid like the plague. She had no family, nowhere to go, and no good friends to stay with. Now it was almost lunchtime, and she'd not eaten the whole day. She did the one thing her mother made her swear ten years ago she'd never do to anyone; she all and out mumbled.

"Look," she mumbled to Hermione shortly, "thanks for all the help, but I'm really hungry, and, if it's the same to you two, I'll just go to the Great Hall instead. Seeya."

She turned around, and fled.

The two girls continue to argue, until Ginny realized Kera had run off. As the Fat Lady swung open, Hermione asked her, "So, what exactly is up with her?"

"Hermione, imagine someone portraying you as something worse than a squib, then add everyone either laughing at or ignoring you, toss in the oddness of this being a new country, and see how you feel."

"Oh, so that's why you're friends with her."

She sighed as she followed Hermione inside. "Sure, that's why I'm friends with her."

"Where have you been!" shout Ron enthusiastically when they sat down. "We've got so many plans, and quite frankly Harry and I are useless at this sort of… 'orga-nization' thing. I figured we could just dictate to you two."

Harry was slumped in a window. He turned with a sad smile. "Speak for yourself. I'm tired, not a disorganized slump like you who can't even pronounce things properly this morning." He went back to looking outside.

"Harry, is there something you want to talk about?" Ginny asked quietly. Behind Harry's back she mouthed, "Did he take his potion this morning?" Ron shrugged.

"Yes Ginny, I did, you don't have to ask Ron behind my back," was the angry window reply.

"Then what's up?"

"Nothing's up. You guys wouldn't get it."

"Now Harry," Hermione said testily, "I'm getting sick and tired of this behavior from you. Tell us what's wrong, or I'll find a way to force it out of you." She gave him a glare and let it penetrate, to tell him she meant business. Ron backed off.

Harry turned around, ready to fight. But when he saw the remorseful looks of his friends, he only sighed. Giving an exhausted smile, he told them, "I had another dream last night."

"You want to talk about it?" asked Ginny, moving a little closer.

"Sirius was guiding me through a maze, like the one in the Triwizard Tournament. I asked him where we were going, and he told me it was to meet up with his friends. So we wander through, until finally there's the middle and they're all there. Sirius, my parents, Wormtail, Remus, and this lady. I asked Sirius who she was, and he looked really surprised. 'That's Kats-eye, my distant cousin Katty. She was kind of an unofficial Maurader when we were in school, a pretty good shapeshifter. I haven't seen her in years.' Everyone seems to have a habit of only talking about my dad and Sirius, but I swear I've seen her somewhere before. Suddenly, I just woke up."

"And-"

"And I knew, right as I woke up, that something bad was going to happen. I just knew it. So, I went to my album, and there are four pictures." He pulled them out and showed them to everyone. "These were all taken before I was born," he explained. It was always the five of them; four men, one young woman. In the youngest, Katty popped out.

"I think she might be related to Kera," he said. "And every time Kera shows up, I get a weird feeling."

"Wow, you think?" said Ron.

* * *

Kera, meanwhile, stumbled about to the Great Hall. Inside, she struck gold; Draco was eating at the lonesome Slytherin table. In the end, the sixth years of their house had the highest number staying. Once she sat down, she would complete their ensemble alongside Crabbe, Goyle, and their leader.

"Kera, what are you wearing?"

Sat plopped down and glared at him. "Ask your girlfriend. Once she gets back from running away like a coward." Then, completely ignoring him, she grabbed a hunk of bread and began to eat hungrily.

"What did she do now?" Draco sighed. Like the rest of his house, he openly gave Kera the cold shoulder in most public places. She'd become as unpopular as the plague, and if anyone mention her name, it was at the butt of some joke. Pansy used all of this to her advantage in order to repay Kera for her own jealousy. Frankly, no one like Pansy, but Draco was the only one rooting for her opponent.

Kera continued to stonily glare at some point past him. He waved a hand in front of her and repeated the question. Then, he tried again. By the time of the sixth try, Kera jumped up, picked up the sandwich she'd been making and practically screamed at him, "Why do you care? I'm just your f---ing servant girl!"

He waited for a moment as she ran off, then stood up and followed, motioning for his guards to stay where they were. After all, even he wasn't quite sure why he was chasing her.

Draco came into the silent hall, and heard the sob. He walked purposefully down the corridor, turning automatically to one of the numerous empty classrooms. There, in the recess, Kera curled miserably, munching on her food. He sank down. "Hello Kera."

Gruffly, her saw her tongue come out, with food still covering it. "Charming," he muttered. "Planning on telling someone what's going on?" As a fellow Slytherin, he knew that it wouldn't be an option to mention anything to the professors.

In response, Kera, without thinking, pulled out her wand and muttered the first curse that came to mind. It, of course, backfired, but this time it was Kera's own wand that went hurtling through the air. He caught it. "I won't give this back until you promise to behave. Now, promise."

Kera clapped her hands over her mouth, and he watched with amusement as the girl fought to disobey. Finally, after several moments of inner struggle, "I promise!" burst forth from sullen lips. She wondered if anyone else could match her amazing ability to forcibly obey.

"That wasn't so hard," he smiled.

"Like hell it wasn't," she replied.

"Now," he told her, handing over the wand with a wary glance. "You're not to try and curse me again. Tell me what Pansy did."

"Why do you care?"

"I'm not the one explaining, you are." He gave her a simple smile. It was the farthest from a smirk she'd ever seen on his face. "Besides, you think I like to see Pansy get the upper hand on anyone? Well, except for maybe Potter and his friends. Now, tell."

"Not much to tell," she explain once a small silence had crept in. "Your girlfriend and her ladies-in-waiting decided to give me an early Christmas present. They threw all my clothes outside, except for what I'm wearing now (it was under loads of books), and, for good measure, magically ripped them so I couldn't repair them with magic. She an amazing woman, your girlfriend is."

"Would you stop calling her that? She not my girlfriend," Draco told her, surprising himself greatly with the anger that had somehow wormed its way into his voice. "Especially not after this."

"Pardon me," she told him tartly. "Does this mean you're finally going to break up with her? Maybe there's another girl." She smiled, enjoying the feeling of having a good conversation with Draco, most of it involving one taunting the other.

"Actually, there is." His genuine smile became a sly one, and he looked at her. "Kera, you seem really lonely. Has anyone been talking to you?"

"Not really," she replied uneasily, suddenly aware that they were alone. "Just, you, right now, and the professors, of course. Oh, and Ginny's been pretty friendly to me."

The smile grew even larger, and he got up. "Let's go outside. Do you remember that plan I told you about? I think it was the night of your first day here."

Kera didn't reply, but she looked like she was thinking about it, so Draco let the silence pass between them as they strolled along to the nearest courtyard, where he hoped they could talk privately about this. The stones were cold, and he was amazed, from inside his cloak, that Kera didn't show any signs of being cold at all. Then again, if he had to guess, his bet was that Romania was one cold place to live in for most of a life. It was likely that she just noticed it and didn't care.

"This way," he told her. It led to Draco favorite courtyard. Most of his fellow students would be amazed to hear about it, but Draco loved the outdoors, especially in winter. He spent almost any free time he could on the expansive lawns, and often did his homework in one of Hogwarts' many courtyards. The one, aptly named the Winter Courtyard, was, in his mind, the most beautiful.

"Oh yeah," Kera finally spoke, "I think I do remember." They stepped together onto the threshold. "Was it the one about getting you and-"

"Oh look!" squealed a second year girl in the courtyard with her boyfriend. "You two are under the mistletoe! Kiss quickly! It's charmed to make anyone who doesn't want to give a huge, passionate kiss!" Her eyes were bright with excitement. The boy, who arms were around her, gave them an almost apologizing glance, as if excusing the plant and his girlfriend's behavior. He kissed her to shut her up.

Kera looked at Draco and shrugged. "I don't think she was kidding, so just in case, we might as well…"

He shrugged and smiled. "Why couldn't Pansy be here?" He leaned in and gave her a small, soft kiss on the mouth. From somewhere behind him, the girl sighed in happiness, and so did Kera. Who knew the kid was such a great kisser? No wonder the pug stuck to him like glue. She would too, if it meant be kissed by someone as good as this.

They broke apart. "Well, someone's had a lot of practice," she sighed. Almost as an afterthought, it occurred to her that this was the first boy she'd ever kissed in her whole life. Well, aside from one other boy, Thomas, when they were three.

"Not bad yourself. First time?" She nodded. "I could tell. Now," he led her over to his stop, far away from the full-frontal couple.

Kera gasped. It was the most glorious sight she'd seen in her entire time here. Sweet snow glistened like gloves on the bare hands of the trees that thrust up around the small courtyard. Underfoot, snow crunched onto what must have been hard but beautiful gray stones, the same which surrounded the singularly cleared tree and made up the benches scattered here and there. A gray sky hanging over the low castle walls lit up the whole scene with the perfect light, and Kera forgot that they weren't alone. From a tree, a cardinal peered interestedly at them.

Draco took her elbow when she stopped and continued through. "It's not nearly as great in summer," he explained. She nodded, almost as if coming to. Kera made a motion, and they sat on the now cleaned bench. Draco pulled out something from his cloak sleeve.

Kera stared at it before realizing what it was. It was a slender bunch of mistletoe. She took it from him and gave it a long look. It was just ordinary mistletoe, the type muggle-born students she heard speaking longingly of only a week or two earlier. Curiously, it was harder to get in the wizarding world, where the norm was one with some type of spell on it. You could get anything from a repelling charm, as a joke, to the type that christened the courtyard entrance. "Why it is plain?"

"I need you to put a spell on it. Remember, it can only work if it looks real. Do you think you can do it?"

"I don't know," she looked around. "I still think this is so wrong. Do we really have to go through with this? I mean, do you really need her?"

He shook his head sadly. "My dear servant girl," It really was becoming a sort of pet name, "when I need moral advice, believe me, I'll ask you for it. For someone as unscrupulous as you, you seem to have a lot of it. Besides, even if you refuse, I'll just order you to. In fact, I believe I already did, way back when. Now, be a good friend and help me out, will you. This will work."

She shrugged. "What choice do I have? All I know is, you are going to really own me for this."

He nodded. She got up and they both left. The couple on the other end looked up expectantly, but both were careful to let one go before the other back inside. Before he left her, she stopped him. "Uh, Draco?"

"What?"

"Remember, how I told you about what happened to my regular clothes?"

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, would it be possible to get some more cloth?"

He gave a relieved smile. It would have been hard for him to still seem indifferent about this entire thing if he was helping Kera get her revenge (He knew if she asked he would help no matter what). "Yeah, sure."

They parted ways.

* * *

Kera waited patiently all day after sending her anonymous messages out to them. Finally, sometime around seven o'clock, Harry and Ginny came down the passage where they were supposed to meet. Kera was waiting. Harry came first down the hall, as planned, and stopped to say hello to her. Suddenly, his eyes fogged over, almost in passionate anticipation.

Then, as Ginny watched, Harry and Kera leaned forward and into a long, passionate kiss that seemed to go on forever. Ginny, tears flying, fled back the way she'd come as they continued. Above their heads hung a sprig of thin mistletoe.


	10. Plan B

Chapter 10: Plan B

The next morning, Ginny was up early at breakfast. As the first streaks of dawn flashed through night's hair, she blearily came to the Great Hall and found it, miraculously, with food in plenty, if only with one table filled at the moment. This table was occupied by a very sad and tired looking teacher, reading the paper. She was blond and frail, though most morning and her classes she looked upright and strong. Ginny quietly snuck into a place near to her. It wasn't like there were any other tables, and she didn't want to be anywhere near any fellow students.

Just as Ginny picked up piping hot toast, a small hawk flew in. A hawk? No one owned hawks, except for-

It landed in front of her and gave her its tiny, crumpled note. Oddly, it was held in her beak, instead of around her leg. Ginny dropped the note at her side, on the ground, and continued to eat. The hawk flapped down, picked up the note again, and brought it back. Ginny took the note, and threw it this time. Again, the bird fetched it back. They played this game, of sorts, for several minutes. Finally, the hawk (Ginny thought her name was Gaza) squawked her irritation. Fearful of disturbing her professor, Ginny quickly opened the note.

It read:

* * *

_Dear Ginny,_

_Please, I'm so sorry you had to see that. See, it wasn't really my fault- I didn't mean to kiss- You NEED To Know, it wasn't…Mal-

* * *

_

The note ended there, in a long, scratchy line, a kin to a heart monitoring system. Gaza, satisfied her message was delivered, flew off, back to her pained mistress. Ginny carefully folded the note and put it in her pocket. Last night, she'd been so upset, she'd just run, and hadn't talked to anyone since. Without any sleep to recharge her, she was feeling almost half crazy, and didn't want to think about this. Not her fault! Who the hell was she kidding. Sure, this wasn't like Kera, but this was Harry they were talking about.

"Oh, is your fetch game over?" Ginny looked up into the smiling, if tragic, eyes of Cherrie Sharper. One eye was a beautiful blue. The other, a misty and clouded orb. It was with this blind eye that she so often appeared to be looking into someone's soul. Most people found it unnerving, but, on this morning, it was Ginny's comfort. She nodded. "What are you reading, professor?"

She smiled mournfully. "Nothing, just the Prophet." She folded up the paper. On the face side, half a headline read **THE EXECUTIONER STR- **Ginny had heard about that Death Eater quite a bit this summer, mostly from her mom and dad. Apparently, he was worse than Sirius was rumored to have been, and mad as a hatter to boot. She couldn't recall the name, though.

"Um, Professor Sharper? Who is the Executioner? I can't remember his name."

The professor's other eye became as cloudy as the dark one. "She, Ginny." Professor Sharper had a habit of calling her students by their first names, as she wasn't much older than some of their siblings. "The Executioner is a woman, by the name of Melody."

"Is she really as crazy as everyone says?"

A dark cloud passed over the woman's face. "No. Or, at least, she didn't used to be."

"Oh. Wait a minute; did you go to school here, with her or something?"

"No." Professor Sharper put her head down. "You see, Ginny, Melody, Melody _Sharper_, is my sister, five years my senior. She was only fourteen when the Death Eaters made her their own, and I was nine. After leaving me at ten in the orphanage, she kept contact for another year. You can easily imagine how hurt I was." Ginny couldn't, but she didn't say a word. Her teacher continued, "Then, I had no word of her, except from frightening newspaper stories that used her new nickname. No one, not even I, knew who was killing so many under the strange alias. Then, five years after her last visit, and four since the last note, she appeared in court, on trial. I was there and I learned that day; never go to a family member's trial. It's been fourteen years to the day since then."

Ginny blushed for making her professor sound so sad. Today, like last night, was going on terribly. "Oh, I'm so sorry! If I had know-"

"If you had know, I would have told you anyway. Ginny, my sister is bitter. She thinks we're all compliant, that we don't give a care about anyone except ourselves. And, she may very well have a point." Cherrie Sharper looked very seriously at Ginny, sizing her up. "But, do you know what Auror it was that finally caught her?"

Ginny shook her head and looked down at her plate. She shouldn't be prying like this. "Maybe you're not quite ready for this," Cherrie told her, sadly. Ginny shook her head. It was almost as if Professor Sharper wanted to tell her. "No, I can handle it. Actually, I really don't know. Who?"

The professor looked surprised. "Really? But… well, the Auror's name was Katriona Carutasu. Now, do you no who I'm talking about?" Again all she got was a shake. "Oh, okay. I guess she just didn't want to talk about it. Though, I talked with her, and she seemed fairly open, so I thought, since you were a friend."

"Who? I don't know-" Then it hit home. Carutasu. "Kera?"

Her teacher nodded sadly. "From what my sources say, both my sister and He-who-must-not-be-named came to Islington, where Katriona was hunting down one of his followers. She had just had Kera, and this was her first night back on the job. Her husband, Adrian who worked with the Ministry, was helping. You-know-who killed him first, torturing him about the whereabouts of his sorceress mother, You-know-who's aunt, apparently, and shouting of betrayal. No one knew, before then, that they were related. Meanwhile, he sent my sister after Katriona and the baby.

It was a mistake. Apparently, Katriona, weak from her pregnancy not two weeks ago, was open to an easy kill. But, she made a stupid mistake. As it's customary for a Death Eater to taunt their victims before death, she went to describe in sickening detail how she would kill Katriona. Then came the final breath of her husband from the next room in the tiny, two room apartment they'd been occupying. With a sneer, Melody said something like, 'Then, once you're good and gone, I'm going take your little runt and give her to my father. You see, he can't wait to see her.'

It was then that, from what I've been told, Katriona lost it a little. She gave a horrible scream, that caused residents to come running. Voldemort came into the bedroom they were in and got Katriona's wand away before she did any real damage. Melody was delighted. 'Don't worry,' she sneered. 'Just tell me her name, and I'll take care of her like I would my own sister. And just think how happy we can be, like sisters with our father." (A/N: Yes, she really enjoys thinking of Voldemort as a father. Just like, I'm sure, Bellatrix thinks of him as her husband. Just a big happy family, really. Okay, we can all go and have a grossed-out shudder fest now. Ewww….)

Apparently, from this point, Katriona became very scary. She used powers no one, not even she herself, had really acknowledged she had all those years. You see, like her daughter, husband, and mother-in-law, Katriona was a sorceress, if a thus far dormant one. She somehow shot ropes at Melody a managed to bind her, then turned on her master. 'Tell you what, Voldemort. Go fuck one of your own servants, and then you can have their baby. But, stay the hell away from my daughter.' And, right then, he was ready to perform a killing curse and eliminate her in a blind anger. Until, that is, Kera began to wail. She saved both their lives, since You-Know-Who would never have risked killing the child he wanted, for one reason or another, just to get its mother. So he left, but since Melody was tied now by rope and magic to the angry Auror, she was left to be rescued later. And that's why Katriona survived, at least until Kera was ten. Then, Kera claims it was a strange illness that finally brought her down, but who really knows? Perhaps it was Death Eater, one who truly cared about my sister. She always was very pretty."

Ginny was dumbfounded. "Was all that true? How do you know how reliable your source was?"

Professor Sharper laughed. "You sound like a teacher questioning an unreliable student's paper. My source was a visit a made to my dear sister a month after they took her to Azkaban. She was bitter about it, let me tell you."

"Because her master abandoned her?"

"No, far from it. She was mad because she couldn't add Katriona's name to her 'killed' list." Professor Sharper had finished her food. She got up. "Well, Ginny, I suppose I'll see you some other time during break. Oh, and, would it be possible to avoid mentioning this to the other kids? I'd rather they heard about my family from me, instead of the Hogwarts Grapevine."

"Of course, Professor!"

She nodded. "Have a merry day, then."

Ginny, who realized she, unlike her professor, had taken a bite once since she'd started the conversation, eagerly ate, digesting information along with her food, as more and more people trickled in. She noted Harry was no where to be found. Why had Kera said something to Professor Sharper, but not to her? She was her friend, after all. Then again, Ginny thought, maybe Kera had been hiding about that, just like she had been about her feelings for Harry.

Ginny slapped down a hand angrily. Why hadn't Kera just said something! So what if Ginny got mad every time someone made eyes at Harry? It wasn't like they were dating, was it? Besides, Kera was a friend. She would have made herself deal with it! But, to do this right in from of Ginny, with such blatant disregard, was sick, and wrong, and Ginny was itching to go over to the Slytherin table right now and slap the bitch. She looked up. Kera wasn't anywhere to be found, but Ginny was intent on following through. She left, and didn't notice Draco following her until he said something.

"Hey, Ginny!" She turned sharply.

"What the hell do you want?" she almost screamed at him.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets, trying to contain a smile that would give his plan away. "I just want to see if you were okay, geez. You seemed pretty upset back in the Great Hall. "

"Oh," she apologized, confused as heck. Draco Malfoy was a priss. He didn't care about 'weasels' like her, and he definitely did not make sure the feelings of one Gryffindor girl were okay.

"Yeah," he sneered. "'Oh.'" Then, his expression softened. "Kera told me what she did last night."

"What!"

"Yeah." He shrugged. "She seemed pretty happy about it," he lied. The truth was, when she came back, and the few Slytherins had departed for bed, she glared at him, ran upstairs and washed out her mouth several times, then cried over the loss of her friend. He was glad she didn't come back down, because he was beginning to feel a strange, new emotion. It was called guilt.

"Right," Ginny practically sobbed. "I'll see you later then." She started to walk away, but he put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Ginny, if you ever need someone to talk to… feel free to send me an owl. I'd be happy to talk." He left her there, struck dumb for the second time today, only this time there was a paper on her shoulder.

* * *

_You're incredible. Don't let something like this get you down.

* * *

_

What the hell was that? Was Malfoy actually hitting on her? Maybe, last night and this morning were some insane dream. She had to find Harry before she woke up.

* * *

Unlike the boys, girls could quite easily go up into the boy's dormitories. Draco, having looked quickly around to make sure Kera wasn't around, ran up to his dorm. There, he flopped onto his bed with a grateful sigh. Ginny had actually listened to him, and he hadn't insulted her. Not once! This day was starting out so perfectly.

He went over to his cabinet, and pulled off the muggle shirt he'd been wearing. Like everyone else, he didn't observe the normal way of dressing during a break spent here. It was like you not only took a break from looking like a worn out student, you took a break from looking like a wizard in general. He chuckled, thinking off his parents' reactions if they ever found his school like this. His mother would've likely had a heart attack if she'd seen Professor Sharper's green and red striped dress she'd been wearing this morning.

"So, how'd it go?"

Malfoy jumped. He thought he was alone. Wriggling across his large bed, he groaned at her, and then laughed, "Servant girl, you're lucky I didn't come up here to change something besides my shirt. What would you have done then?" They both knew what he meant.

She gave him a cat's smile. "Why, sir, I'm ashamed! I would have covered my eyes, like a good servant does, and then peeked through my fingers to see how small it was."

That caught him by surprise. He gave a rather un-malfoy-ish snort, and then began to laugh. She got up, plopped on his bed, and cocked an eyebrow at him. "How do you know I'm not being truthful?"

He stopped and looked at her. "Because, you know that there's nothing but hate between us." And because my family is keeping you away from yours, he thought quietly.

"Aww, you're so sweet," she drawled. "But you know I could never like you like that."

They both looked at each other, one frowning in mock anger, the other grinning like a fool. Then they laughed at the stupidity of the other, and laughed at how incriminating it would look if they were caught like this. Her shoes were stacked neatly in a corner, and his shirt lay in a heap on the floor. All Draco needed to do was be sitting next to her on the bed, and… well, he actually did do that. It was his bed, after all.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting up here? How badly does she want to kill me now?" Kera looked at him, anxious for answers. There was, of course, no need to ask who 'she' was.

He nodded sadly. "She looks like she's ready to rend you limb from limb."

"Great," murmured Kera, "Now everyone here hates me." She hugged her knees to her chest.

Draco wasn't sure what to do, so he hummed a little tune to himself. What could you say to someone in Kera's position to make them feel better? It really was true, now. Everyone did hate her. Ginny would hiss at the sight of her, and Draco couldn't be publicly nice to her without earning the spiteful natures of people he needed to, unfortunately, be in good favor with. But, for right now, did she really need to feel that bad? The least that could be done was for him to be frank. "Yeah, you're probably right. But, at least you've got an imaginary friend."

"Who?"

"Me," he smiled.

She shook her head in despair. The Draco who she could call a friend might as well have been imaginary, for all he showed everyone else in this stupid place the real him. Yet, at the same time, she was touched that he considered her a friend, and, in a gesture that was strange and alien to Draco, threw her arms around him in one of the many things his family had never participated in (for as long as he could remember); a hug.

Draco felt extremely awkward. He'd never done this before, and here was Kera, showing more emotion to him in one simple thing than he doubted she'd shown to the whole school, all totaled. Hesitantly, so sure he wasn't doing this right, Draco put first one arm, then the other, around Kera shoulders. But, then she broke it. "Sorry," she told him sheepishly. "Whenever my mom used to cheer me up, I always gave her a hug. It was habit, I guess. I hope I didn't make you get all grossed out, or something."

He just looked at her. "I've never gotten one of those- hugs, are they?" She nodded. "Why would anyone do that?"

"Well…" Kera looked thoughtful. "It's… I guess it's… It's what someone does when they care about someone, like a friend or as family, I guess. It's sort of like saying. I care about you and I want to protect you from whatever is troubling you. But, it's a motion, a gesture, instead of something you actually say. You could hug Ginny, if she felt scared, because you care about her enough to want to protect her, right?"

"Not really." This was confusing him.

"Not really? Then, why are you trying to get her to like you?" Kera glared him down.

"I guess because she's really beautiful, and she's probably a great kisser," he replied.

Kera, in retort, punched him on the arm and then gave him another hug to throw him off guard. "What was that for?" he coughed.

She smiled. "Since you are my only friend, I care about you and want to protect you from your own stupidity and masculinity, duh. And I don't care if you hate me for it. But, your goons will be back soon." She slid on her shoes. "It'd probably be for the best if they didn't find me up here." She left him, still shirtless, and feeling rather exposed.

* * *

Ginny, like Draco, got to the common room, and went up to the dorms. But, it wasn't her room she went to. It was Harry's. Praying her brother or one of the others wasn't inside, she turned the handle.

"Ron, is that you?" Harry called out.

"Do I look like Ron?" she asked indignantly.

He stumbled off his bed as she came in. He looked amazing in his PJs. "I thought you weren't going to talk to me ever again," he muttered. "So what was the point in going to eat?"

"Did you mean to kiss her last night?" Ginny demanded. She refused to beat around the bush. If he did, then fine. If he didn't, then, what the hell was going on around here?

He didn't. "Kera? No, Gin, I didn't. In fact, I don't know why I kissed her at all. It was like some sort of spell, something that made me kiss her. Besides, I haven't kissed many girls, but it didn't seem like she liked it to much."

Ginny came in further. "Yeah, it seemed odd to me, too. Kera has two friends here, me and, well, Malfoy." Harry made an audible sound of disgust. "Don't groan, meat head, she genuinely likes him. But, speaking of the ferret, he found out. And, he came to comfort me after breakfast."

"HE WHAT?" Harry roared. Ginny put a soothing hand on his chest.

"Calm down."

"You're joking. Tell me you're joking."

"No, look." She handed him the paper. He glanced at it quickly, and then pulled a piece of paper off his bed. Staring at them, he gasped, and then showed her.

The handwriting was the same. Both were written by Draco Malfoy. Harry's was much more threatening.

* * *

_Stay the Hell away from Ginny. She's going to be with me now.

* * *

_

"Like hell I am!" Ginny exclaimed. "He must have set the whole thing up. I bet he pressured Kera into it as well. We should do something!"

"But, what?" asked Harry. "We could get him kicked off his Quidditch team."

"No," Ginny shook her head. "Too risky for us. But, maybe… yes, that's it!"

"What?"

"Draco Malfoy really cares about his image right? And, he's a ladies man as well. So, what could be more cripple, and be as un-incriminating as tell the right people that Malfoy is a gay pervert. We could tell everyone he's in love with you!"

Harry's face lit up. "Of course! No one would talk to him then. Ginny, you're brilliant! I could kiss you!" Of course he could. And, he did.

Several minutes later their mouths parted, and Ginny's face was flushed. "Ginny," Harry whispered, "I know how we can make sure no one will go after you again."

"How?"

"Will you go out with me?"

"Let's just make sure we don't tell anyone for awhile, especially Ron. No use spreading it around or he'll know we've been talking. We should catch him off guard, it's better that way." He nodded and she beamed at him. "If you'll excuse me, I need to go give Kera a hug."

(A/N: I'll leave it up to you guys to decide how good it would feel to be kissed by Harry Potter. This could be thumbs up or thumbs down, but in my opinion, I sure wish I was Ginny.)


	11. The Rest of the 'Happy Holidays'

Chapter 11: The Rest of the 'Happy Holidays'

(A/N: This chapter and the next few that follow have some homosexual topics. If you're offended, please feel free to skip ahead, though I guarantee you'll miss things. I personally have nothing against them; they're cool because they stand up for what they believe in. Unfortunately, I do not know many gay people, so if you find and inaccuracies, please let me know show I can change them right away! Thanks!)

Draco sat in the Hall at breakfast the next morning, munching thoughtfully on a bagel (A/N: Bagels are like Fluffy-wuffy pillows). So far, since yesterday, that is, Ginny hadn't taken him up on his offer, and Potter had clearly done nothing in response to the owl he'd received. All in all, it was not the best way to start his Christmas Eve day.

Just as he was close to finishing, two boys approached him. They were fifteen and fourteen, one a Ravenclaw and the other a Hufflepuff, respectively. He eyed them warily as he left the Great Hall, but they just inched closer as he tried desperately to lose them. Finally, he angrily spun around to face them. "What is wrong with you two?"

One looked surprised; his companion looked sad. The former asked the latter, "You mean he doesn't know?"

To which he got the reply, "No, he's probably just in denial." He then faced Draco. "We know the truth. You shouldn't hide things like that just because you think there's something wrong with it. It's perfectly natural, you know, to feel that way. But, the last thing you want to do is bottle it up inside." His friend nodded empathetically.

Draco wrinkled his forehead. "What the hell are you talking about? What feelings?"

The boy, the Ravenclaw, clucked knowing. "Like I said; denial. It's perfectly alright to have feelings for him. A lot of the girls around here can empathize. After all, he is Harry Potter."

"WHAT?"

But the Hufflepuff shook his head. "No, not here. You need to come to terms with what you are. And our friends are just the people to help you do it. Shall we, Bob?"

Bob nodded. "Sure, Louis. Lead the way."

They took the much taller boy by his elbows and made him walk down the halls with them. One or two girls pointed and laughed as they passed; whatever the news was, it was spreading. As they began to pass into territory unfamiliar to Draco, he asked, "So, where exactly are you taking me?"

"No," Louis told him gleefully, "not until we get there. It would be terrible to spoil the surprise for you. But, trust me, Mr. Malfoy; you will most certainly be among friends."

Draco highly doubted this, and showed as much. Bob laughed. "Mr. Malfoy- or, do you prefer Draco?"

"Mr. Malfoy will work, thanks," he responded flatly.

Bob continued, "Well, Draco, we've already established you're in denial. So, if you're refuting the actual existence of your real self, then how do you know who your friends are? And no, it's Draco. We're all the same here." Guidance Counselors scared Draco. And that's exactly what Bob was.

Draco was about to reply when the magnitude of Bob's great words hit him. Or, at least, made him stumble, ever-so-slightly. Did he really know who his friends were? Among Slytherins, it was all about your class, your year, your rank among your year. Next year he would be all-powerful among his fellow Slytherins, but only if he played the part of a spoiled, rich, muggle hating brat for long enough. Not that it was hard; it was a role that he'd been playing for as long as he'd been alive, a role that many times he had a hard time believing wasn't actually his real nature, like some people told him.. After all, old habits, if that's what they were, are hard to brake.

It was amazing how much he thought about it this year. With every insult he threw, or rumor he helped spread, he wondered if this was the real him. (After all, something had to keep him occupied in class when he was sure he already knew it all.) It disturbed him greatly, but he wasn't sure with whom the blame rested for its beginning. Maybe it was Kera. The girl, for all the strange, often unscrupulous-looking things she did, she seemed to have a very keen, innate sense of right and wrong. It really was a shame she always chose to ignore it, except when it was time for Draco's weekly moral lecture.

"We're here," declared Louis happily, indicated a strange portrait. One half was a man, in a black suit accompanied with matching bushy moustache; his other half was a plump lady with fake honey tresses, clothed in a brilliant pink masterpiece of fabric.

Bob extended his hand as far as it would go and poked the portrait dead center, right on the nose. It sneezed violently, and the portrait swung open. Inside was a brightly lit room full of an odd assortment of plastic chairs and a few rather destitute looking tables. Clustered around were a group of girls and boys from all houses; the youngest, however, was at least a third year. They were all chatting comfortably and only a few looked up and waved at the newcomers. "This is where we meet," he explained.

"Who meets?"

"The AHWW. Well, actually, we're the JAWHH, UK school division," Louis seemed impressively proud, and Draco was just confused.

"What?"

"JAHWW. The Junior Association of Homosexuals in the Wizarding World. We're a group for people with feelings like ours to come and discuss our them in a secure environment among friends." Louis sounded like he was quoting some sort of handbook. Draco wouldn't have been too surprised to find out that these wizard Brownies did have one. "There's no pressure to join, honestly. We just brought you here because today's subject is the Golden Trio." Great, they even have their own secret language, he thought.

"The Wada-what?"

"The Golden Trio," Louis sighed. He looked meaningfully at Bob, who just smiled that 'you were new too' smile. "You know, Harry Potter and his two friends, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger? They're practically gods to those of us who would be oppressed by You-Know-Who otherwise. A lot of us have crushes on at least one of them. Come on, we're late."

The three boys took seat. It began to occur to Draco what was going on here. "So, who the hell told you I'm in love with Harry Potter? And why did you believe them?"

"Oh, a very reliable source. They thought we'd be the best people to help you come to terms."

"Right." Draco eased into his chair a little way away from everyone else. Bob got up and cleared his throat importantly as everyone took their seats.

"Okay, so, is everybody here? Good. Now, we have someone very special joining us today, so I want you to all give a big hello to Draco."

"Hi Draco," they all replied, rather stupidly, in his opinion. Draco was pretty sure at least one or two of them were, or at least were giving the impression of being, high on something. It suddenly occurred to him that Crabbe and Goyle wouldn't look out of place here at all. So that's why they were always together.

After that, he was more or less ignored, which suited the Slytherin just fine. He sank lower and lower into his chair as girls talked of Hermione and boys of Harry and Ron. It scared him, but they all seemed fairly willing to accept that he clearly wasn't in a talking mood. Draco thoroughly approved of this. He spent his time thinking about girls.

First, there was Pansy. When he thought about her, he was actually thinking about all the girls he'd ever dated, up to a certain point. At first, around third or fourth year, she seemed pretty fun, always ready to 'try' something new. But then, as it happened with any other female he'd dated (and quite a few of those he'd gone even father with) they had always gotten moody and overprotective, like they expected to be the one to marry him. No one seemed to have figured out yet that he had no intention of marrying. Well, at least not until he was older than Dumbledore, maybe older still. But, before and even after they broke up, 'Draco Syndrome' often caused girls to curse anyone they thought was even looking at him, often with terrible results. Worst of all, it was now a common occurrence, since none of his actual flings ever lasted more than two or three weeks, though one or two would rekindle months later.

Then there was Ginny. He wasn't sure what to think of her. Maybe it was his old habit of insulting any redhead on the off chance it was a weasel, but she'd never responded to any of the looks he'd given her. He wanted her so badly; he oftentimes woke up in the middle of the night, sore from the thought of it. She spurned him, and it made the feeling worse. He'd talk it over with Kera who, in her normal way, told him not to get in an erection over it. But, then again, as disgusting as it sounded, what she said was true. Draco had thought about it, and that was definitely why. He didn't want to guess how the hell someone who had never been in a relationship before knew so much about them.

Luckily, because of it, he had Kera to slap him out of anything if it ever got to a serious point. She was a scything shrew, and would always be as hard and truthful as possible, but Draco knew her secret. Inside, she was scared of something, and this gave her an astoundingly stony exterior. It was the school, maybe, or the people in it. He'd had no clue (quite frankly he thought at first that she was in some sort of permanent PMS or this was just her personality), until they were forced to kissed a few days ago. Though she'd never spoken a word about it in four months, in one kiss she'd conveyed all her loneliness and sadness to him, and he'd nearly broken down under the weight of it all (now he was scared to ever get that close again). For all her attitude, Draco had a distinct feeling that being torn away from her family (and then not knowing that it had ever happened) was making her more subconsciously depressed than anyone could see. Being mocked by the school probably wasn't very uplifting either. (A/N: He of course would have no clue, as mockers can rarely empathize with their victims.)

Something inside Draco squirmed. Just a few weeks ago, he'd found out what it was. It seemed that somehow, over the summer, Draco had developed this bizarre thing some liked to call a conscience. At first, he believed it was some strange combination of Kera and what he thought Ginny would be like but no, it's name was Draco2. Now, it wouldn't leave him alone. Every time he even thought of doing something wrong, that nagging little voice would start up, sounding so much like the mother he'd never had. Draco had no clue how to kill it at the present time, but that didn't mean he wasn't still looking.

But now, someone must have started a rumor that he was gay. It wasn't Kera; he'd ordered her not to tell a soul, which meant she'd chuck herself off a tower before she'd talk (thought not from her own volition). Sure, he'd made lots of enemies, but most of them had graduated or were too scared to do anything. Except for one. And, who better to start a rumor that he was in love with Potter than scar boy himself?

This meant he must have found out the real reason he kissed Kera the other night. Or, more likely, Ginny found out and told him. The-Boy-Who-Won't-Die didn't have a reputation for being all that intelligent among those of green and silver.

* * *

The same girl who was occupying Draco's thought looked up when a glum voice said, "Is a Slytherin allowed to sit at the Gryffindor table?"

"Oh, hello Kera," Hermione said icily. Clearly, they all knew what she'd done, and now were too happy to see her again.

"I came to apologize," Kera mumbled, head down, "but I can go away if you want." She turned, and was about to shuffle off, when Ginny spoke up.

"The school rules can go sod off for once; it is Christmas Eve. Sit down Kera, and tell us what you want."

She sat down gratefully. "So, why are you four in here so late? It's almost eleven."

Ginny shrugged. "I don't know about them, but I had a late night. What did you need to tell me?"

"I came to apologize." Kera's head, which was up a moment before, now sank back on her shoulder. "I'm really sorry about the other night. What I did was… wrong. Really wrong. I wish I could tell you why I had to but-" Kera began to cough violently. It went on for a steady minute or two, as Ginny watched in horror. "Sorry,' she apologized when it subsided. "See, that seems to happen every time I try to talk about it. In fact, something like that happens every time I try to talk about things like that."

"Like what?"

"Things I've been told not to talk about." Kera shrugged. Her face was pale, and there were dark rings under both eyes. Oddly, there was no sign of any sneezing, though not to their disappointment. She began to cough again, even more than the last time. Even Ron, whose slowness on the uptake was legendary, looked a bit scared. It would do nothing to help Gryffindor reputation if a Slytherin dropped dead at their table.

"Kera," Hermione asked, "Have you gone to Madame Pomfrey about this?"

"No, I didn't think it was that big a deal. I mean, I'll just have bad days like this everyone once and a while. It's been happening for months now. All that ever happens in the end is, I get really tired, but it seems I'm always tired nowadays, so it's no extravaganza, right?"

Hermione clearly didn't share her views. "Well," she replied doubtfully, "if it ever last more than a day you should really go to the infirmary. You've got all the characteristics of one of the Silencing Curses. I read that Death Eaters use them to weaken down strong opponents for months on end, before they captured their target and placed them under the Imperius Curse."

"And," Harry pointed out, "you were staying with the Malfoys all summer. Actually, even longer than that, right? How do you know they aren't trying to put you under a curse?"

Kera raised her eyebrows and gave a hollow laugh. "The Malfoys? No way, I just work as a servant for them. As long as I clean everything and keep my infamous mouth tightly shut, I highly doubt they care what I do with what little is left of my time. Besides," she looked at all of them for conformation, "you've seen me with my wand. What could the Death Eaters want with a half squib like me?"

Ron shrugged. Ginny opened her mouth, but Kera cut her off brightly, "Hey, you guys want to come skating with me? I check the lake this morning, and it's more than frozen enough, even at the center."

"Sure," said Hermione. The others looked doubtful. "We never did much skating, it never got cold enough where we lived," Ginny said. Ron nodded to back her up.

"The Dursleys wouldn't even let me watch TV," Harry explained. Everyone but Hermione looked puzzled, but accepted it as his explanation of why he didn't skate.

"Don't worry, I can teach you! My old house was right by the water, on a small lake," Kera told them brightly. "It's a nice way to get around; a lot faster than walking or riding around the edge." They nodded, gaining confidence, and she decided that it would be good if she left them to make sure they actually could go skating. "I'll go down to see Hagrid about those skates. Meet me down there, okay?" She practically skipped off.

"Wow, I guess she really doesn't have many friends," Ron commented as soon as she was gone.

"You think?" asked Ginny sardonically.

"I don't care what she said," Hermione told her, "what she meant to be a reassuring explanation reeked of a curse. Though, I have to admit, why the Death Eaters would want to put her under the Imperius Curse is beyond me. Why they would need to weaken someone like her first makes even less sense."

"Yeah, I've seen her in class. We all know to duck and cover when she uses that wand," Harry told Ginny.

"Yeah, I know that, but I think I know why she'd be good to have on either side," Ginny responded. "Kera's got guts, and just because she can't perform the spells doesn't mean she doesn't know them. She told me she's in seventh year charms, and I've seen her papers a few times. Despite the impression she gives to her classmates, she definitely knows what she's talking about, and making a futile attempt to perform."

"Oh!" Hermione exclaimed, eyebrows shooting up. "Harry, you've … um… got yourself a guest."

Harry turned around. Ginny groaned. It was the Butter-Dish Girl. She stood there, trembling like some newly defrosted creature, blond hair in two cute curling pigtails. She must have been thirteen, or fourteen, but her eyes were shining like a five-year-old's. Clearly, Harry didn't recognized her, because he asked, "Oh hi. Can I help you?"

She opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. Furiously, she tried again, but came up only with a croak. Of, course, as in all good stories, the third time's the charm. "My name's Beatrice Diane Garrett! And you're Harry Potter." (A/N: Oh, would you look at that… BDG…)

He gave her a bemused smile, and her eyed rolled upward, either from ecstasy, or low blood sugar. "Well, that was… fun," Ginny broke the silence. She looked down at the unconscious, beaming girl. "Just a head's up, this is the girl that wanted your butter-dish memorabilia."

"What?" he replied absently.

"Harry, that's two girls so far. Next thing you know, this Garrett will be enchanting mistletoe. I just hope she isn't cursed as well."

"What," asked Ron, "are you really that mad just because someone in our year finally beat you at something?"

"No," snapped Hermione, blushing slightly. "I'm just saying that it all makes sense. I'm willing to bet her ability means she practiced this stuff before, or at least used to be really good at it. First side to correct whatever went wrong inside gets to tap into a nice wellspring of strong, usable magic."

Ginny caught on. "In other words, she'd naturally need to be weakened by the other side, because, despite her attitude, I've got a feeling Kera's got pretty sound morals, with the backbone to match."

"I guess I should stop making fun of her, then?" Ron asked. Harry covered his eyes with his hand and got up.

"Oh, you think?" asked Ginny sarcastically as she stood up.

"Come one, let's not leave Kera and Hagrid waiting," Harry told them.

"Ron, have you really been making fun of her?" Hermione asked as they left. She sounded rather disappointed in him.

"Well, nothing particularly bad or hideous… but I did come up with the Great Sneezdini." Harry snorted.

"Ron, you- what's that?"

They all paused outside the broom closet in the main hall. The doorknob was rattling, like someone was trying to get it open in the dark. Ron looked uneasily. "Maybe it's a ghost?"

Suddenly, the door swung open to reveal Neville pulling his belt tighter. Behind him, grinning like a house-elf was Cho. Her hair and shirt were wrinkled and she had the ridiculous look of someone who has just done something incredibly fun. She put his hand in her pocket and beamed. Neville nodded. "See you guys around." They exited arm in arm.

Ginny was looking a bit green. "I've heard of getting to a broom closet, but I've heard of anyone actually doing it."

Ron shrugged. "Well, Cho did always strike me as a sort of old fashioned girl. But, Neville? Hey, Harry, how come you and Cho never did anything like that?" Harry punched him on the arm. Ron winced, "Well sorry, I didn't know that that was still a sore sport. Can we get to Hagrid's already?"

Draco appeared from a cramped hall. "Thank god I made it out alive," he muttered. He spotted them and called out, "Potter! You seen Kera anywhere?"

Harry's hand clenched tight, but, before he could move forward to punch Malfoy, Ginny slipped her arm in his. Surprised, he hesitated, and it was enough time for her to whisper, "You're not supposed to know, remember?" He nodded, and she replied, "Why do you need to know?"

"I need to talk to her, that's why," he replied sarcastically.

Before Ron could tell Malfoy to go do something somewhere with someone, Hermione got in the way. "She's down at Hagrid's house. We were heading there now."

He nodded grimly and set off out the door. As they followed, Ron whispered, "He doesn't have a… thing, for Kera, does he?"

To which Harry and Ginny both automatically replied, "No."

"How do you guys know that?"

Ginny shook her head, "Just trust us on it."

* * *

When they got to Hagrid's hut, Kera was already there, out on the lake with her skates on, doing pirouettes with her large black skirt flapping and look for all the world like some strange black bird that found its way down south. As they approach Hagrid, they saw Malfoy wave her over and begin to talk vehemently to her. While he looked a bit flustered, she just smiled and gave him a hug. He left for the castle the exact way, but turned at the last minute. "Do you have another pair of skates?" he asked Hagrid.

Wordlessly, Hagrid dug another pair out of the box in his massive hands. Draco took them and ambled back to the lake. "Well now, ain't that interesting?" he remarked when the boy was out of earshot.

"What?" asked Harry curiously as he took his own pair.

"Wel, when little Kera came down here an' asked for the skates, she made sure t'were at least six pairs. Seems she knew he'd come. Are them two together?"

"What?" sputtered Hermione. "What makes you think that, Hagrid?"

He shrugged. "Not much, jus' some hoping on my part. The boys seems almos' civil when he with 'er. It's good to she you friends with Kera. She seems mighty short on them nowadays."

Hermione nodded. "We noticed. Say, Hagrid, is Kera very good at your class." She felt a bit guilty asking this, since she and her friends would've known the answer if they were still in his class. But, times changed, and no one was inclined to deal with anything akin to the monsters Hagrid exposed them to on previous occasions.

Hagrid smiled. "The child has an unnatural talent with my creatures, she certainly does. But, it's that sorcery that is so nice."

"Sorcery?"

"Well o' course. She, I unlike the other profess'rs, relized she ain't gonna get better at using spells if'n that sneeze o' hers gets in the way. So, when she told me she could do, sorcery, I said go ahead. There was one time a niffler got under me house, and she lifted the whole thing up without touching a thing. Not even a mug twas out o' place when I got a chance ta look. 'Course, she looked a tad bit sick afterward, but she told 'twas normal."

Hermione stared. "You're serious?"

He nodded.

As soon as they headed down to the lake, Hermione crossed her arms. "That'll be it, then," she told them.

"What?" Harry asked.

"Didn't you here Hagrid? Kera used sorcery to lift his house clear off the ground. She probably had to hold it there for a long time too, if they were looking for a rogue niffler. Plus, she didn't even have contact. What power-hungry maniac wouldn't want someone with that power on their team?"

"Yeah, but if Voldemort knew about her, she wouldn't be here right now, would she?" Harry told her.

"Well, you're probably right," Hermione frowned. "Do you think what Kera said is true? The Malfoys could have taken her in to protect her, a bit like the Dursleys did with you."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Draco, you skink, that's cheating!" Kera shrieked.

Draco swirled around her once more. "That's what I'm here for. Need a hand?" He gave her his. She pulled him down and skated off. "Hey!" Kera gave him her tongue.

"Maybe she has been with that family for five years. I'd think it would be impossible to be that friendly with that thing other wise," Ginny muttered.

Kera skated to the edge and came off the ice. Clopping up to them, she seized Harry and Ginny's hands. "Hermione, you show Ron how to do it. Come on, you guys are slow!"

Several minute later Hermione had sent Ron over to Kera, who'd already taught the others to be more than passable, and took some time for herself. Malfoy, who had thus far been an observer, skated over with a strange look on his face. "Yes?" she asked, preparing for a duel of insults.

But none came. Instead, he asked. "Are you four friends with Kera now?" He asked her curiously.

"Yeah, why?" What the heck was he trying to ask?

"Well, I heard weasel make fun of her the other day. I have an image to maintain."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"Well, as she's the most unpopular kid in the school, I can't be openly kind to her in public. But, as you may have noticed, Granger, that doesn't mean she isn't my friend when no one is watching."

"Oh, that's so sweet and two-faced of you."

"Yeah, well how much do you know about it? Look, just tell weasel that if I ever get wind of him mocking her again, I'll kill him and make it look like an accident. Got it?"

"Sure," she shrugged.

"Good." He turned to skate off, but paused. "Oh, and, thanks mud-Hermione. Thanks for stepping in."

"What?"

"She's lonely." He wasn't acting like the rotten bastard she knew; his face had gone softer, like daylight breaking through after the storm. "I can't believe no one has noticed. She needed friends, the type that could be there, even in public. And, yeah, I do know how bad it looks from either perspective. You either lose your dignity or you keep it with the knowledge of what it means to her. I just hope you guys'll last even when the rest of the school returns. Hey, tell Kera I had to go back to the castle, but thanks for inviting me anyway."

Draco skated off, feeling very strange. He was hurting all over, not just the places where he'd fallen. And, it was an inside sort of hurt as well. Like years of pain breaking apart to reveal something unique underneath. He needed to talk to Kera, but she had other friends now. Draco was happy for her; it was the happy feeling of thinking about a favorite sister, if he ever had a chance to get one of those. For one reason or another, seeing her happy made him feel relieved. It looked liked Draco2 refused to leave.

Hermione stared at the boy's retreating back. Did that just happen? Ginny had once said that Kera told her something like, "'He's not such a bad guy, once you look at him for the hundredth time.'" She guessed Kera knew what she was talking about. Oddly enough, Draco seemed to care for Kera like a little sister, or a favorite cousin. He really was two-faced, but at least the faces were opposites.

* * *

Kera woke the next morning, feeling very happy. After all, it was Christmas Day. She looked at her bed; there were a tiny pile of present, but she felt lucky to have them. Unwrapping everything, she spread the gifts out on her freshly made bed. A small bracelet from Mrs. Malfoy, of all people, a small package of homemade cookies from Mrs. Weasley with a get-well note on it, a small glowing ball from Ginny, and a note from Draco. _Come to the Boy's Dormitory._

Sighing with happiness, she thought that, in comparison, the gifts she made and sent out were paltry in comparison. As she entered Draco's room, she saw a large and brightly wrapped box on the bed. "Remember how I said I couldn't be your friend in public?" he asked her. She nodded quietly, and he grinned. "Well, this isn't public, you idiot. Open them up, servant girl."

Inside were five new black robes. She pulled them out. "Wait, but how did you know what size I am? Have you been going though my things?" she asked suspiciously.

He laughed. "Guys can't even get up the staircase, remember? You have the same measurements as my mom. Look again, though. There's more." He pulled out from behind his back a set of beautiful yellow pastel dress robes and threw them over her head. "I managed to convince my parents of your situation, and to get them expressed here."

She pulled them off, and was about to hug him, when she remembered what he thought about things like that. She dropped her arms, and her face went down to blush. "I don't know how to thank you for all of this. I would have been overjoyed just to get the cloth, and this is…" she trailed off.

He grinned. "You can blame me." Some remnant of his conscious from yesterday still lingered, and it screamed at him. "Hey Kera?" She looked up, and he carefully put his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in slightly. He breathed more easily when she returned it. They stood there for a few minutes, feeling so much like part of their own little family. "Merry Christmas."

Draco looked up. "Damn." They'd somehow found themselves under the mistletoe again, and a bizarre little creature was grinning devilishly at him. Kera looked up. "Uh-oh," she told him.

"Should we-"

"Better not risk it. Merry Christmas, Draco." They gave each other a short little kiss, and Kera laughed. "God, I wish I was Pansy sometimes." He snorted, and she gave him a playful punch.

(A/N: Well, err, there ya'll have it. I'm pretty sure next chapter should have some New Year's Resolutions, like Ron's not spend the remainder of his year as a vir – well, you'll find out for yourself. So… SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY! CATCH THE NEXT CHAPTER OF FOUND IN THE FOREST SUNDAY!)


	12. And Now We Break for Resolutions

Chapter 12: And Now We Break for Resolutions

"It is a long and historic tradition for Hogwarts' students who remain in school during the holidays, every seven years, to write a list of New Year's Resolutions. These are for your own benefit, and should be taken seriously. They are a private matter and are used to help you better understand your goals for the coming year." Professor McGonagall handed out parchment amid hushed whispers and laughter from the few pupils in the Great Hall. She sorely wished that the idiot who invented this was in some place very, very hot.

Somehow or another, as more students came in, McGonagall managed to repeat the speech with a straight face. She remembered her New Year's Resolution, from back in her third year.

_Snog Jeremy Parker. Then date his hot friend. _

It was amazing she somehow became single.

But, if we wanted to know about Professor McGonagall's third year thoughts, this story would be taking place in her third year. Instead, this tale concerns Harry Potter, Ginny Weasley, Kera Carutasu, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, and Neville Longbottom and Cho Chang. Oh, and the Dark Lord, his wife/ concubine person, and several nameless muggles who willvery soondie of theChicken Pox.

* * *

Harry's List: 

_1)Kill Malfoy._

_2)Kill Malfoy._

_3)Get Ginny underneath some heavy mistletoe._

_4)Kick some Voldemort ass. _

(His parents would be proud… we hope.)

* * *

Ginny's Resolutions: 

_1)Become one with inner Harry's Girlfriend-ness._

_2)Publicly humiliate Malfoy and my brother at the same time._

_3) Get Harry to get me an identification bracelet._

(Right. I feel no real need to comment.)

* * *

Ron and Hermione's (two different sheets, same blank stuff): 

_1)Not remain a virgin._

_2)Lose it to someone hot._

(We're still waiting to see what the dictionary saysabout the definition of 'hot'. I mean, come on, _Viktor Krum_?)

* * *

Kera's List: 

_1)Do stuff. Maybe with some people. Like… a party?_

_2)Figure why the hell I'm writing this nonsense._

_3)Oh… turn Snape's hair a shocking purple by end of term._

(Yes, rather nice goals.)

* * *

Draco's: 

_1)Turn Pansy into pig._

_2)Kill pig._

_3)Feed to Julia._

_4)Laugh._

_5)Kiss some people._

(Why, he's actually thought this one out!)

* * *

Neville and Cho (they only wrote one): 

_1)Pass the pregnancy test._

(A/N: Okay, I'm saying it now. Please avoid asking me if Neville's pregnant. HE IS A GUY. G-U-Y.)

* * *

Voldemort, being curiously absent from the school, has none. He is off giving people the flu, and doing other Voldemort-y things. (Yes folks, you heard it here. Voldemort is the actual cause of the flu. And you listen to your health teacher because…?)

* * *

All those poor muggles: 

_1)Not die._

(I'd say something harsh here but… man, they're unlucky.)

(A/N: Curious as to why this dumb, plot less, and otherwise annoying chapter was stuck in? Well, truth is, I'm feeling guilty and bored. Yes… very bored. Bored enough to go try to write some New Year's- well, okay, maybe not that bored. No one is ever actually that bored enough to _write down_ their resolutions. Maybe say them. But, you give up after five days. No, it's always some combination of peer pressure, cheap TV marketing and advertisement, and leftover pudding. If you'll excuse me, the pressure is building to write the horrid little things down now. After all, it is already Oct. 8.)


	13. What Happened to You!

Chapter 13: What Happened to You!

(A/N: Right, umm, so this chapter is devoted to one of my friend's sick obsession she USED TO have. I put emphasis on this, for the BDG's sake. Thank you for your time, feel free to partake of refreshments.)

"You know, it would be the perfect solution."

"How about not."

"But, you know you want to." She snaked an arm about his neck. He pulled away.

"I made my decision."

"When?" she pouted.

"The day we met, Pansy."

Pansy crossed her arms and glared him down. "Draco, you know that the whole school must know by now. And," she leaned in, "you also know that I know that you are most definitely not gay. We can show the whole school the truth, together." Her face was inches from his. She breathed in deeply, thinking that here was the real reason she was alive. But, they were interrupted.

"Hey, Draco? Don't you want to head down to DADA? Professor Sharper is posting the group lists, and we have a bet to settle." Kera waltzed in, brush settled deep in her hair. She hiccupped. "Oh. Am I barging in on something here?"

"Yes, I suppose you are." Pansy sulkily got up from the emerald couch she had Draco pinned to. Looking from Kera's bright face to Draco's pale one, it began to dawn on her. All those days of strange looks passed between them in the few weeks since the holidays had ended, those new robes she wore to school. "You… you like this… trash?"

"Pansy, what are you talking about?" he sputtered.

"Her! Why didn't I realize it! I mean, it's so obvious. The whole time over break, when you two were alone in here! The way you stopped us from laughing, and we all thought it was some joke of yours? She's your servant; why wouldn't you take advantage of her? How were we all so foolish?"

Kera blushed; she didn't even know Pansy knew what the word foolish meant. "Now, wait a minute, Pansy…"

"Shut up Kera," Draco ordered. Mouth glued shut, Kera glared with a hurt expression, unable to intervene. Luckily, Pansy was too busy staring down Draco to notice how quickly she obeyed. "Pansy, why the-"

"Save it!" Pansy sniffed. "Well, Draco, my offer will always stand, when you come to your senses and stop messing around with… squibs. But, until you do, we can't see each other, and I certainly won't be kissing you any time soon!" She stalked out. "The others will here about all of this, mark my words."

"Thanks Kera," he muttered. He tugged at his collar and got up with disgust. "You can talk now."

"Look, I thought there was no one else in here, alright?" Kera wrenched her jaw apart. "How was I supposed to know I was right about you and Pansy all along? Huh, and I thought I was joking!"

"Hey, there's more to Pansy than meets the eye," he told her defensively, not knowing why. He hated Pansy; she disgusted him beyond all reasonable doubt. Maybe he was scared, scared at what Pansy had said, or mad at Pansy and Kera for sticking him in such a situation.

"Yeah, a whole lot, if you count the worms in her head and the snakes in her heart. You told me you couldn't stand her Draco; yet when she insults you, insults me, you rush to her defense?"

"Kera, I have an image to maintain-"

"Yeah, I know all about that image of yours. The image that hates me, and mocks people like me in public? You don't think I don't know who came up with 'wingardium sneeziosa'?" She turned away, afraid to show him the tears that shouted to be released upon frowning cheeks. "Of course, I know all about him. But, he's not my friend, is he?"

Draco decided a softer approach couldn't hurt. "You know that I'm your friend, Kera."

She whipped back around and grabbed his arms, shaking him as hard as she could, channeling all the fear, hatred, and hurt possible through the painfully close gesture. "You feel this, Draco?" He did, and was glad it was early Tuesday morning, before anyone else was awake. "Have you ever actually been hurt by someone before? I doubt it!" She laughed a choking cough that welled up from the lungs. She was beginning to feel a little ill, cold and dizzy. "Your family is so cold, I don't think you'd ever get near enough to one another touch, let alone become close enough for such emotions! And, how about those girls of yours? They're all notches in your belt! I will not become one of them! You can't hurt me like that, Draco!" She shoved him, much harder than necessary.

"Kera, I would never- I'm your friend." He wanted to soothe her, maybe even give her one of those 'hug' things. This was the absolute display of emotion anyone had gotten from her all year, aside from depression.

"No," she pulled away. "You've been lying the whole time. You're not my friend, you don't care about me, and this whole thing is a joke. You don't love me! Well, I won't have it!" She ran out, stumbling, through the stone exit.

Draco merely stared, unable to say or do anything. What had just happened? One minute, he was sitting down, trying to have a quite moment after what had happened the night before, and then Pansy was practically consummating marriage, then Kera, Pansy, and Kera again, but hurt, yelling. He rubbed his arms; unsure if it was true or not, but there were the forming bruises to prove it.

Pansy was going to tell the school. He would be ruined in the Slytherin house. Him being 'gay' was bad enough, but to be accused of taking advantage of the outcast? The boys might love it, but he would definitely be on the wrong side of hexes from several girls, and their boyfriends. His father would not be happy about this at all.

This would turn ugly. Better to do some damage control now, but who to ask? It certainly wouldn't be Kera; he'd never realized how much he relied on her biting comments. He groaned as he realized who the perfect person, well people were. He was going back to the portrait. But first, to check those lists.

* * *

The groups were an invention of Professor Sharper. It was her idea to pair up girls and boys from the same year into a group, and then have that group work on the same DADA project as another group from a different year, so they could compare answers at the end. Everyone was anxious to see the posting, and though she claimed the process was entirely random, there were still insane rumors and bets flying about the school. Harry and his friends were no exception. They were among the first to arrive at the second floor corridor, alongside several third years. They clustered about the long lists and anxiously scanned for names.

"Hey, here I am and- Hermione, you're in my group!" Ron exclaimed.

"Am I on there?" Harry questioned him. He was a bit stung that it looked like his friends would be having fun without him.

"Sorry mate, we're partnered with Padma and Ernie." He kept scanning, head easily above the rest. "Oh, look, you're right at the top of the second list. Let's see, you're with- crikey."

"What?"

Ron gulped, and squinted just to make sure. "Well, it looks like you're with Neville and this Ravenclaw, Anasil Assay."

"Well, that's not so bad."

"Yeah, but Kera's in your group."

"So? We'll just keep her away from anything magical or wooden."

"No, you won't let me finish, Harry. There are five people in your group. You, Neville, this Anasil, Kera… and Malfoy."

Harry swallowed. "You're kidding. Ron, tell me you're kidding."

"He's not Harry." The musical voice of Professor Sharper accompanied her shadowed figure as she stepped up to them. "When I first saw the group, I myself was tempted to change the organizing spell. But, once I saw the task you had been chosen for, I decided to keep it the same. You see, Harry, your group will be one of the few with special permission to venture into the Forbidden Forest."

Ron's face had dropped. Harry swallowed. "Professor, I sure you mean well, but, these people…"

"These people are not the people who would be your first choice, I guess." Harry nodded guiltily, and she laughed. "Harry, how well do you know these people?" Hermione, sensing the professor wanted to speak to Harry alone, dragged Ron off.

"Neville's useless at anything that doesn't involve plants, Malfoy is a jerk, I've never even heard of Anasil Assay, and Kera can barely hold a wand without causing a catastrophe," he burst out.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," muttered Kera, coming out of nowhere to appear at his elbow. She looked dreadful, with red-rimmed eyes, and exhaustion permeated from her skin. "You're just helping my day to go so well. Am I really going to have to work with something in the forest?"

"Kera," the professor smiled, "all the teachers know what you really can do when that wand is gone. I am giving you not only permission, but requesting that you use your magic."

She brightened slightly. "You mean…" Professor Sharper nodded. "Thank you!" Kera yelped with glee. "Maybe Lady Ramp doesn't have my name after all." They both stared at her. "Sorry: mythical representation of bad luck."

"You see, Harry, these people are going to be more useful to you than you can imagine."

"Professor, I'm not quite sure why you're telling me all this," Harry explained. "I mean, I'm sure they're great people and all, but-"

She held up a slender hand. "Harry, listen to me now. As I've already told you, this is a very well-constructed group. I will tell all of you later. Or, as soon as Mr. Malfoy arrives, since it is apparent the rest of your team is here."

Draco was not long in coming. It was a matter of breaths before he had found his name, frowned in dislike, and came over to where his new group was clustered. "Professor, you can't do this," he told her.

"Actually, Mr. Malfoy, I believe I am quite within my power to do this. I hope, of course, that you are referring to the group placement." She smiled. He did not return the expression.

"Now, I'm sure you are all curious why you are all getting a special explanation from me, instead of merely reading a packet of information like your peers. You see, the task which you five have been given is somewhat precarious in nature, and it will be understood if you pack out, though I hope my randomness was right in picking the best people."

"The best people," Draco snorted.

"Yes, Draco, and Harry, the best people. Your group is charged with going into the Forbidden Forest and tracking the movements of a large and fairly dangerous spider that has recently taken up residence in our woods. You will actually be reporting back to Dumbledore, instead of me, it is that important. We believe the animal is a Drifaroius; now do you see it?" No one nodded. She sighed. "Harry, you will be in charged. You've proven your leadership skills on several occasions, and it should be no problem."

"Potter's leading!" Draco exclaimed.

"Good," muttered Kera. She glared daggers at him.

"Yes," Professor Sharper replied. "Draco, you are in charge of protection. So far, you're one of the best cursers I've seen; it may come in handy. Anasil, your research skills are renown and you will need them to know the habits of your beast."

Neville raised a hand and whispered. "Professor, why me?"

She smiled. "Neville, I have heard from Professor Sprout that you are a star pupil in Herbology. Magical plants will prove invaluable on this task; possibly for medicinal purposes. And Kera, well, you know what you can do; I only hope it won't come to it. Now, while under your temporary schedules, you'll be spending your mornings every other day with a friendly centaur named Andre in the forest. Good luck, have at it!" She turned swiftly on a heel and left, as if she suddenly had better things to do. Professor Sharper was often seen doing such strange things, especially to other professors.

They stood about bewildered, until Draco broke the silence. "Well," he sneered, "won't this be amusing?"

Kera had backed away; Harry was perplexed at her behavior. She was the one who normally put Malfoy in his place. But today, she walked like something wounded. He was just about to leave this puzzling group and go find Hermione, when the sound of clomping hooves approached. "Ah, your are the group, then?" he questioned. Anasil and Neville gulped. "Well, then, we best be off. My brethren, you see, often take the early hours of the morning to sleep, and it really is the best time as any to venture in."

"Cen-cen-centaurs?" stuttered Neville.

The centaur stared. "Why yes of course, dear boy. As it was told to us through the stars, the centaurs and the wizards are allowing a rift to form between them. I am one of the few left who will even tolerate your presence about me."

"So-um- how far in will we be going?" It was the first time Anasil had spoken. He voice was not wraith-like, as you would expect from one so small and quiet, but instead full deep, like the echoes of great bells once their clappers have been silenced. "Because it has been proven that forests highly charged with magic work in circles, with decreasing power outwards and, while I am sure the Forbidden Forest can't be more than a six in its innermost part, wizards of our level could take at most the outermost fifth level, and that's if we're lucky."

While everyone, including Andre, stared in amazement, Kera only nodded. "That would make sense. But, if it's absolutely necessary, I can get us through to the seventh layer. Believe me; I came out alive from a four level forest when I was ten."

"And?" asked Anasil skeptically.

Kera shrugged. "And I was only bedridden for a week and a half. Like I said, only if need be."

"Relax," Andre told them all calmingly, but mostly for Neville, who looked ready to faint. "We shall merely penetrate the first layer for today, as that is all time allows for."

No one wanted to know what he meant.

* * *

Time passed quickly. It was an hour that felt like two fearful minutes until Andre let them go, extracting promises to return in two days 'when sun only just begins its skyward journey'. As they all went their separate ways, Harry decided it was time to become one of the cool muggle spies on the telly and follow Kera, who had continued her weird behavior throughout their little trip into the woods. Pulling out some black sunglasses he had been saving for just such an occasion, he turned his hands into a gun at the ready and crept after them.

Kera had stalked of towards the lake, but some was close behind. As Harry got behind a bush, Malfoy came out, and headed straight towards Kera. She started walking away but he said, "No Kera, stop." Once she had halted he closed the gap and put a hand on her shoulder before adding, "Please."

Moving again, she turned her face away. "Kera, look, whatever I said this morning, it was dumb- I was dumb. I was dumb, I was wrong, you were right; can we please be friends again?" She said nothing, and slowly Draco put an arm over her shoulders. It was the best he could do. "Come on, you know I'm your friend. It shouldn't matter what anyone else thinks."

Kera's eyes began to brim. Shoving Draco into the snow, she shouted, "You bloody hypocrite! How can you say that when you are only my friend if you know no one is around? And how could I be so naive to think it actually meant anything? Look, it's over!" As she turned to walk away, Draco grabbed her ankle and pulled her down into the powder. He gasped. She was frozen solid, even for someone out in the snow. Caught off guard, Kera sneezed, and managed fall into the snow a second time because of it. Draco wanted to do something, but they were beyond closeness now.

"So, how long do you think it before we watch them do it, Harry?" The small voice came from right next to his ear, and Harry jumped.

"Who's there?" he whispered.

Suddenly, a blond pigtail appeared next to his ear. As the rest of its body began to materialize, he realized Beatrice Diane Garrett had her head comfortably nestled against his shoulder, for the entire world like a lovesick puppy. Leaping back into the bush, he cut his hand painfully against a thorn.

Leaning in closer, and taking off his uber-cool sunglasses of his face, she suddenly yelled, "Harry, guess what I just realized? I HAVE EVERY CLASS EXCEPT FOR DIVINATION EVERY PERIOD AFTER YOU DO! ISN'T THAT GREAT? I CAN SEE YOU IN THE HALLS!"

"What was that?"

"What was what?" There was the sound of one person getting up and helping the other.

"Yeah, sure. Hey, Beatrice?" He tried to hurry; he knew what would happen if Malfoy got over here.

"Yes, oh love of my heart?" she blinked rapidly, a trait in girls that Ginny mocked in some way at least monthly. Hermione said it was PMS, and Harry and Ron were too disgusted with her answer to ever ask what PMS really was.

Harry barely registered that Malfoy had been an actual gentleman and helped Kera. "That really hurt, you know. And it is over after this."

"Yeah, I know." He sounded tired.

"Can you do that invisibility thing again? Get us out of here?" Harry was sure his heart was going to burst.

She blinked even harder. Harry could hear footsteps now. "Oh, anywhere my prince!" Unfortunately, she chose that moment to faint with delight, leaving Harry to face Draco and Kera.

As they came up upon him, Kera told Draco matter-of-factly. "This won't change my mind. I never want to see you again and just because I'm looking forward to seeing Harry pulped changes nothing."

* * *

When Harry returned to the Gryffindor common room, it was with fast fading bruises and several cuts. Kera was responsible for this bit; she had informed him she didn't feel like getting in trouble today. Ginny took one look at him from her seat alone and said, "Harry, what did you absolutely have to do this time?"

He grimaced. "Nothing. It was the bloody fan club's fault."

She frowned, giving an adorable little crease to her forehead that Harry longed to smooth out. "Yeah, let me guess. You were spying and the butter dish freak found you and got you ratted out?"

How did she know him so well? Here's to love. "Pretty much," he sighed painfully. "Worst of all, it was Kera and Malfoy. They were arguing about something. Malfoy wanted to be her friend and-"

"-and Kera wasn't buying, right?" He nodded. "Well, why were you spying on them in the first place?" Harry felt it was time to tell all. He recounted the entire event, leaving out only that Kera was fine with him being beaten up and he was fairly sure the BDG was still out cold somewhere. Wherever Kera used to live, they clearly still held true to strict reciprocity when it came to spies. Although, he had hoped for something better for punishment. He was now grateful for detention.

"I'm still wondering why Malfoy would want to be friends- I was sure he and Kera were already close," Ginny muttered when he had finished. "But, what I'm really dying to know; why the hell would Sharper put you in a group with these motley guys?"

"I'm not at all sure," he told her. "Apparently, Malfoy has some amazing defense skill, Anasil knows her way around the library, Neville has enough plant knowledge to teach herbology, and Kera can do- something. Aside from that, I think she just wants us all dead."

"Who?" Hermione's head jutted out into the common room. "Harry, what happened to you!" she shrieked.

"Beatrice Diane Garrett, that's what," Ginny explained. They had to go through another round of explanation, and then a third when Ron came back, with red stuff covering his chin. At this point, Harry was too tired to ask Ron if he had started sprouting fungus, and told Hermione to tell him.

"But why would Professor Sharper want to get you killed? And why would she let so many students die with you?" Ginny was skeptical. Harry thought she was just being a bit too morbid about the whole thing.

"Well…" Hermione trailed off.

"Oh yes, Hermy's going to share some amazing tidbit of information with us!" Ron cackled menacingly. They all stared at him, and he broke into a sweat. "Jeez, blame a guy for trying to lighten the mood here." He swallowed as Hermione continued to glare. "Go ahead, Hermione,' he muttered

"Anyway…" she continued, "do you guys remember the names from the Azkaban breakout last year?"

"Well, there were the Lestranges…"

"Yes, but not them. One of the names was the executioner; Melody Sharper."

"You don't think?…"

"I don't. Sharper is a common name; they don't look anything alike. It is just a last name, after all," Hermione told them. "But, it makes you think, doesn't it? What if it was-"

The common room entrance opened again. Parvati and Lavender came in and gasped.

"Harry, what happened to you?"

"Ron, are you growing a beard?"

Here we go again.

Ginny was about to explain, when Mia, one of the school owls, clicked her claws against the glass panes. Ginny let her in, and quickly took the note.

* * *

_Ginny-_

_I really need to talk to you guys about something. I figured Harry might know about this sort of thing. I'm heading towards your common room now, so could you meet me when you hear the Fat Lady? I'm not feeling so good and really don't want to attempt to murder her._

_-Kera

* * *

_

"Hey Harry, you want to tell me what you saw in the forest today again?" she called over her shoulder.


	14. Portriats Should Not Hit on Students

Chapter 14: Portraits Should Not Hit on Students

(A/N: Okay, this chapter is going to have some funky- stuff. Yeah, I'm just in kind of a weird mood, so let's all dive right into the pudding!)

Having a portrait that was half-man half-woman was not Draco's idea of proper attire for a school from the Middle Ages. Of course, he'd once had the misfortune of being in Dumbledore's office; he'd seen the headmasters. Chances were, this was the mother of one of them.

"It's a beautiful thing, isn't it?" Bob had a disturbing habit of appearing at people's elbows, like one of those freaky butlers in some twisted version of Frankenstein. The ones that you find out are mixing poison in with the drinks, not the ordinary Jeeves or Reeves type.

"Yeah, about as beautiful as Pansy choking on a banana she'd been eating with her feet," he told him unenthusiastically.

Bob clearly didn't get it. "I never knew someone could choke with grace. You really must introduce to this lovely young woman sometime."

"Oh, or you could introduce me to this charming young man, Bob."

"What the hell?" Draco spun around.

"Up here, deary," an oily voice called.

He caught the portraits' lips moving on the woman's side. She gave a honeyed grin when he faced her. "You know, I haven't seen such a nice, cute boy of your type in years. Seems like all the cute boys are dating other cute boys; a girl just can't get a break around here."

"Oh no George," Bob told the portrait. "Draco's the same as us."

"What? Honey, I always thought you had a good head on your shoulders, but that has to be one of the most ridiculous things I've ever heard. This boy's straighter than Fannie's hair." The woman (?) picked up the man's (?) limpid hair with disgust.

"Whatever you say George."

"This is too weird for me. I can't believe I even came here for help, when you're all the ones that need to be in a madhouse."

"Oh, no, my sweet, it was most definitely fate that brought you to my humble abode. You see, we were simply meant to be. Oh, I just have to tell Fannie." She began earnestly poking the sleeping man.

"Let's go," Bob said quickly muttering the password. "Fannie doesn't like meeting George's new 'friends'. We think that at the very least they used to be married."

"If you ever want a good time, dear sweet, you know where to find me!" George called after Draco as they both entered quickly.

Bob insisted that Draco sit across from him on one of many overstuffed, neon colored chairs and that he make himself entirely comfortable before anything else happened. For Draco, this took all of two seconds as he ignored the fact that underneath him was nothing but hot pink. Then came another thirty seconds of apology about cross-dressing George, and how he should ignore him completely because everyone else did. Finally he asked, "So Draco, why are you here? I thought you hated me and my group and everything we stand for."

Draco shrugged, not wanting to acknowledge nor deny the claim. "I need help with one of my friends. One of my girl, friends."

"Oh, so you are straight then? How long have you two been dating."

"No, I'm not." Bob looked a little hopeful. Whoops. "I mean, yes, I am, but no, we're not dating. She's just my friend."

"Oh."

"Yeah, oh. Anyway, I need help." He couldn't believe he was going not only to someone younger but creeper as well for advice, but then again there wasn't anyone else.

"Right, so what exactly did you do to her?"

"Well, there's this girl-"

"Yeah, I know. Your friend."

"No, not her, another girl."

"Ah, another girl. Tell me Draco, exactly how many girls are you currently dating?"

"I'm not dating either of them! In fact, I'm pretty pissed at both of them right now, can't you get that through your head!" Draco was more mad than he expected, just as Bob was more thoughtful than he thought he'd be. Most guys (him included), would be rolling on the floor laughing if they'd just listened to that.

"Oh, okay," Bob said calmly. "Now, just out of curiosity, would one of these women be Pansy Parkinson? The 'another girl', I'm guessing."

"Good guess." He sighed, unsure if this was going to work out. Draco was so unsure about the future, even more than he'd been this summer. He should've stayed bored like he'd always been. Too much was involved in taking an interest into the life of another person, among which included starting to think about you. "So, Pansy is in the common room, trying to jump me, when Ke- my friend comes in. Pansy shouts a lot about how I've betrayed her and I shouldn't be doing this, and how she was going to tell everyone, and how I'm going to regret this even more than the gay rumor, then stalks out."

"And you take it out on Kera, right?"

Draco shrugged. "Yeah, but I didn't mean to- how did you know?"

Bob raised his eyebrows. "Kera? We've met a few times. Had a nice conversation once or twice. A bit weird- very weird, actually, but her heart's in the right place. Of course, her first appearances haven't helped her image at all."

"Well, she didn't have to act like that. She could be less, weird."

"Yeah, but what many people think is weird is perfectly natural to her. So what if she can't cast spells; it's just as important as house loyalty around here, which in my mind is stupid. All she needs is that wand fixed."

"What?" Draco looked at him to make sure he wasn't making some stupid point but trying to be funny as well. He wasn't. "What's wrong with her wand?"

Bob said simply, like it was no big thing, "She's probably allergic to something in it. My great aunt had that problem, but luckily she grew out of the allergy. We never found out what it was, but for years when she was in school her wand would randomly turn things into people's body parts. Very funny, but not to her."

"Whatever. Look, I don't have much time, I just need to know what to do."

"Apologize."

"Oh yeah, so it can work just as badly as last time. Thanks but no thanks."

"Try it again and again and again until it works. Girls like to feel like they're needed."

Draco stared. "How would you know that?"

"I dated before I came to Hogwarts, and I'm not just talking about boys."

"Right. Maybe I should go." Draco got up.

"Well, maybe another time. Just ignore George and Fannie on your way out. I swear they're almost entirely harmless." He didn't elaborate.

"Will do. Oh and Bob?"

"Yeah, Mr. Malfoy?"

"This conversation never has, nor ever will, exist."

"Just remember to close the portrait one your way out."

Draco did, and fought the urge to punch George when he made howls on the way out. What a useless waste of time. Draco2 began beating the inside of his skull.

* * *

Ginny made sure to keep the portrait open until she heard someone close it. Luckily, that someone was Kera, looking more pale, drawn, and scared than she had even that morning in the Forest. Staggering into a chair, she caught sight of Harry's face and groaned. "Harry, I'm so sorry about that, I really should have done something, but I was so mad at you- him- everything…"

He tried not to wince when he smiled. "It's okay. I'll just remember not to sneak up on you anymore."

Ron and Hermione came over to sit down, and the group found itself in an isolated corner of the room. Hermione looked at Kera and asked, "Was this the Forest?"

Kera shook her head. "I don't know what it is. I really haven't been feeling good all day, I'm all tired and trembling, like someone took all my strength."

"Kera, wouldn't it be a good idea to go to the infirmary?" Ginny asked.

"Harry, you going to go?"

"No, I think I'm good now."

"Well, I don't want to trouble anybody, so I think I'm fine thanks."

"Okay, then why are you here?" Harry asked.

"Well, I told you I was feeling tired today, right? So, I went to my common room to take a nap, but I didn't stay asleep very long."

"Dreams?"

"What else? I was in some city, and everything was on fire. Suddenly, my mom was right next to me, and she was shaking her head sadly. She told me, 'If we were still Carutri, your Grandmother wouldn't have allowed this to happen. If your father was alive, things would be different. If my friends were here, well…if all my friends were here there would be happier times. But it's just you and me, isn't it, my little Peregrine? And I'm not really here, either.' Then she pushed me down, and I landed on my hands. Suddenly, I couldn't move. She laughed and walked away. I woke up retching with burning hands." She looked at Harry. "I overheard you talking about a dream of yours the other night, so I thought maybe you could help."

They all shrugged helplessly. Hermione thought about it, then asked, "Kera, how much do you remember about your mum?"

"Not much," Kera shivered. "She died when I was ten, after all. But, I do have one picture of hers."

"Well, what did she look like?"

"Mrs. Malfoy has seen the picture; she says I kind of look like her. I guess I'd agree if I ever looked in a mirror. But she had scars on her face. I don't remember why."

Harry suddenly walked off and headed to the boys dormitories. Hermione turned to Kera after a moment's awkward silence and asked, "But, what was up with, 'if we were still Carutri' stuff?"

"Oh, that was actually the only understandable part," Kera replied matter-of-factly. "Apparently my family was the Carutri a generation or two ago, but something happened and our rank was demoted."

They all gave her extremely puzzled looks, except for Ginny, who was looking at the stairs for Harry. She knew that if she went upstairs to help him with whatever he was looking for, neither one of them would come down for awhile. Kera sighed, "Carutri is the name for the highest ruling family of the Caru clan. Apparently our family members who still lived there did something that got the whole family demoted to Carutasu, 4th ranked in the Caru and the lowest of our ruling families."

"And Caru is…?"

"Sixth of the nine Sagi clans. I think my mom told me it was Trichina, Sutra, Kanji, Danjore, Suki, Caru, Altaren, Mantre, and Ambaru. It was something like, the deeds of the clans determine the ranks, or something like that."

"Hey Kera, do you have that picture of your mum with you?" Harry had finally returned, a cut up picture in hand. It appeared as though one half was gone.

"Yeah, it's always with me. Why?" She dug it out of her pocket, slightly crumpled.

He showed her the picture as she gave him her piece. They all leaned in and Kera gaped. The piece fit on perfectly. In the faded background they could see other faint images moving, but the focus of the picture was one small group. A man who looked to be the adult Harry, his smiling, handsome friend, laughing despite the cut that separated them, and a slightly quivering man below them. "Hey, I think I've seen that man before," Kera exclaimed, pointing to the quivering man.

"That's Wormtail," muttered Ron.

"So your mom must have been the same Katty Sirius kept talking about." Harry silently prayed she didn't know what everyone else thought Sirius was. But Kera was too busy frowning at the picture. The three men welcome the young woman to the picture like an old friend.

"She must be, but she never told me. In fact, I never even knew my mom lived in England!" Kera was beginning to feel more than a little hurt about this new development. Her memory was, to put it lightly, faulty, but she couldn't imagine this entire part of her mother's life that she had no idea about. What else could there be that was missing. Maybe her parents weren't even… Kera's mind started to howl and she clutched it tightly.

Everyone was too preoccupied to see Kera collapse onto the rug, but her wand fell right in front of her nose. Harry was explaining, "The part with my dad I found in the scrapbook. But, when I was with Sirius last summer, at the ministry…" his voice choked slightly, "Sirius gave me these two pieces. He said the five of them had cut it up and took their pieces, but he'd gotten Wormtail's piece when he thought he'd blown him up a while back. He mentioned someone named Katty, but I guess I forgot to mention it afterwards…" Not that he'd wanted to. This little piece of Sirius and his dad was one of the few he had, and he had wanted to keep it to himself.

Ginny put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Harry probably hadn't taken his potion this morning. Ron ignored them and said, "Well then, Lupin'll have the other piece. Maybe you can get his and have the whole one."

"Ron," Hermione snapped. "Harry can't do that. He'd be taking Kera's only picture of her mother, and that's wrong! It is a bit of shame she doesn't remember anything though…"

"Yeah," asked Ginny, "How come she's not in any of the other pictures?"

Harry shrugged. "Actually, she's in a bunch. Mostly the one's with the whole group, although there's a random one of her and Sirius. I think they were distantly related, or something… I just never realized who she was, no one ever talked about her. Next time I see Lupin, I'm going to ask why."

"Hey, where is Kera?"

Kera chose that moment to give a violent unconscious sneeze, and the chair she'd been sitting in whizzed across the room, but only after clipping her ankle. "Ouch," she muttered.

"Kera, what are you doing down there?"

"Fainting," was the reply.

"Alright, that's it," Hermione said firmly. "Kera. Infirmary. Now."

* * *

Pansy, despite her 'anger' at Draco, was still feeling generous enough to come find him and repeat her offer. He just stared at her from the dark courtyard where she had him pinned. "You're insane," was all he said.

"No Draco, you're insane. I could date any guy I wanted in the school, and all you do is reject me. Sooner or later I'm just going to get fed up and move on to bigger and better things."

"Please do."

"You're so arrogant," she moaned. "Can't you see how many guys I've ignored and resisted just for you?"

"Judging by that behemoth hickie, I'd not a whole hell of a lot. Look Pansy, it might have been a fun ride three or four years ago, but I only went out with you because my parents made me. But, considering my parents and my reputation are now shit, I'd say I couldn't care less anymore!" He pushed past her.

She grabbed his hand, pulled him in, and kissed, hard. The old Draco would have just gone with it because hey, Pansy was a girl, and girl what else were girls good for? But five seconds of conversation with Weasley and Granger, ten minutes of talking with that Anasil kid, a few month spent with Kera, and a lifetime with his pissy sister were starting to make him rethink this. Besides, Pansy was getting old. He pulled away.

"Go find someone who wants to kiss you, Pansy." He turned away.

She shrieked, "You really are gay!"

He turned around. "Pansy, I am tired, cold, and more than sick of you. I need to think about some things, and if being gay means getting you to leave me alone long enough to do that… Well then, I guess I'm gayer than little fluffy bunnies on a sunny summer's day."

She looked genuinely hurt, and Draco2 was starting to feel a little bad. A little, that is, until she muttered, "I'm so going to get that bitch."

"Pardon me?"

"It's your stupid servant's fault. Sick little mudblood, she probably put you up to this."

Draco felt his anger swell slightly and sincerely hoped he didn't have to curse Pansy. It would be too much work making her uglier than she already was. "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Kera didn't put me up to this. Still, maybe it would be nicer to you if I lied, since then you could lie to yourself and say that it's not really me talking. Oops, too bad. Secondly, Kera's more pure-blooded than you could ever dream about being, not that she needs it. Three, you're so lucky I'm here instead of her, 'cause I'm too tired to turn you into the conniving lizard you really are. So, have a nice life, Pansy."

"Wait!" She ran up in front of him. He didn't stop. "Does this mean we're over? Draco, are we ever going to go out again?" She sounded oddly hysterical.

He didn't care. "I've got a splitting headache and can't think to well, put I'm tempt to tell you that I highly doubt it, to all of the questions. I don't think you'll ever let us be over." Draco decided it would just be better to leave her there and he had the perfect excuse when he saw Ginny and Hermione walk by, trying to help Kera walk.

"Kera, do you have to be so incapable of movement?" Hermione gasped.

Kera replied faintly, "Hermione? I can't feel my legs and am too dizzy to figure out what you just said."

"Yeah right," Ginny informed her.

"Need a hand?" Came the voice behind them.

Ginny yelped a promptly dropped Kera when she saw who it was. Why would Malfoy help them? Below her, Kera grabbed her immobile feet in pain and shuddered. Draco was not being very nice to her today. Did he really hate her that badly? Her head started to ache again, and she prayed another blackout wasn't coming on. "Go away, Malfoy, you've done enough damage today." She started messaging her temples.

He laughed, weakly, "So it's Malfoy now? Ouch, I'm hurt. Do you two need any help?"

"Yes," they both replied, relieved. Ginny conveniently ignored the fact that these two hated each other right now. It was such a relief not to have to carry their invalid companion around anymore.

"Well, alright then. Kera?" He held out a hand to her. She didn't moved, just looked up at him angrily. He just gave her a look, an order. Grimacing, she allowed him to pull her up onto her feet. Of course, her ankles went down like sinking ships and she collapsed at his feet. "Sorry." He pulled her back up a second time, this time off her feet into a fireman's hold. "Someone hasn't been eating properly," he told her. Kera had fainted.

"I'll get her there from here," he told them.

"No, we'll go," they protested.

He shook his head. "We need to have a little chat. Thanks, though."

He left them standing there and walked off. After a few minutes of silence, in which Draco marveled at how light his friend had become since September. She got even lighter when she stirred, blinked at him, and moaned, "Not you."

"Yes, me. What the hell happened, servant girl?" Damn. He used her nickname.

He got a poisonous glare. "Don't call me that again," she hissed. "Look, you've made it very clear you don't want to be my friend, so why are you helping me? If that's actually what you're doing?"

He shook his head. "Kera, I'm sorry okay. It may have taken a little bit, but whatever I said, it wasn't true…"

Kera started getting a lot heavy. Setting her down gingerly up against the corridor wall, he sat beside her. "Look, we've been mad at each for less than 24 hours, and I've already realized I can't go back to... whatever I was. You managed to establish some shitty thing called a conscious inside of me and it won't go away. So, I hate to say it, but you're stuck with me."

"Well all I've been is sick, so I can't say the loneliness is the same for me." She was lying through the teeth.

"At least we're kind of talking. Now let's get you to the infirmary."

"No," she hissed through clenched teeth. "I don't need to go to the infirmary. I'm totally fine; nothing's wrong. Just don't take me to the infirmary." She clung to him. A few forced tears rolled down.

"Kera, you're freezing or delirious or something. Come on, let's get you down there." He picked her up.

"No, Draco…I'm fine if you're here."

"What the hell?" He stopped, wondering if this girl wasn't really Pansy or someone else in disguise.

"Please," she buried her head into his chest, "I really don't need to go down there. Now that you're here, I feel better than ever. Oh please.. Draco…"

He only gave her a hug. "I'm sorry Kera… for everything." He drew away when he felt her go limp. Pressure points always worked well with a spell.

He brought her down the hall carefully. If his suspicions were right, then that wasn't just some effect of Kera's delirium. He felt guiltier than ever before. After all, his father was the one who slaughtered her grandmother, dragged her here, poisoned her, tried everything possible to ensure Draco and Julia could keep her under their control. A normal person would collapse under the weight, so thank the stars Draco's stony heart had just started to crack open. (A/N: Otherwise he'd be cute, but DEAD)

"Ho there, who might you be?" Came a challenging voice to his right.

It was a portrait of a strange knight, dressed entirely, and he was peered interestedly below his helmet at Draco's charge. Draco recognized the look in his eye; it was very reminiscent of George from this morning. "She a student," he said firmly, putting the emphasis where it belonged.

"Oh, I see. And why might you be carrying the fair maiden? You haven't tried to kidnap her, have you?" The knight's tone was more than a little threatening. When Draco shook his head the knight seemed extremely put out.

"She fainted," he told the portrait.

"Ah…being the chivalrous knight, are we?"

Draco decided to not reply. The knight was very clearly more than a little crazy, and quite possibly in love with Kera.

"Well, why don't you leave her here with me?"

Draco merely raised his eyebrows.

The knight emphatically shook his head. "No, it's not that! I know a portrait down the way, very good at healing and-"

"The fact that you even suggest it means you were thinking it." He left.

* * *

As Draco was turned away by Madame Pomphrey, Kera with her, he sincerely hoped that she knew what she was doing. Kera might have been sick, but all it would take was a word from Julia or him to set her off. When he left, Madame Pomphrey sent an owl to Professor Dumbledore.

_Dumbledore-_

_I think we may have found our strange occurrences._

_-MP_


	15. Words of Mass Destruction

Chapter 15: WMDs- Words of Mass Destruction

Despite the appearance she gave everyone, Julia knew more than she let on. Boarding school had been boring, an endless tedium of classes with no real meaning to her. She knew that its real purposed was for young women 'of promise' to establish connections with other young ladies who would go on to have futures of wealth or fame. But she had the best connection of all. Who needed to rub shoulder with some rich airhead when he or she had an aunt well established with the most powerful man of all time?

So, instead, she chose to spend her days practicing illegal spells, given to her 'mysteriously' on her seventh birthday. The first spell she ever performed with it, using her mother's wand, of course, was one of seeking nature. The package came straight from Azkaban. Julia was prideful; she knew Draco would never have been given such an amazing gift. The pride would only increase as her aunt became her not-so-mysterious benefactor for many years. With her help, Julia would never study a day in her life for anything because she knew everything already. For once, the dumb blonde was smarter than Draco.

Draco made Julia laugh these days. A year ago, she would have told anyone that her brother was the toughest person she knew. He was. But now, he'd been doing some pretty dishonorable things. Hanging out with servants and mudbloods, thinking before cursing (the one thing she would never beat him at), and, maybe worst of all, putting others before himself; all of these new developments sickened her. And as her January meeting with Aunt Bellatrix drew close, she couldn't wait to rat out Draco for everything he'd been doing. Never mind that she might have been imagining most of it.

Julia had been hoping for awhile that something miserable would happen to their servant girl, since she couldn't do anything herself. So, she was more than delighted when she ran into her brother in the common room early Saturday morning. "Oh, good morning dearest brother. How are we doing today?"

Draco, bleary-eyed, consented to glare at her from a couch. He'd been doing homework.

"Well, aren't we pleasant? Hope you haven't been out tarnishing our family's good name lately."

Draco set down his quill. His sister always was the morning person. Back when she still envied him, he only had to put to being woken by a squealing alarm clock next to his ear. Now, she took the early morning as a chance to taunt him before he was awake enough to blast off an ear or two. Leaning back in his chair, he finally spoke. "Of course not, my little Jule-Wool; I wouldn't dream of it. That's your job."

Julia felt her face burn. Before going to Hogwarts, back in July, Draco had informed her that everyone would know about her 'little nicknames' unless she behaved. Deciding that a change of subject was prudent, she asked, "Where's Kera? I need the little servant girl to iron a shirt or two, and maybe darn something or other."

Draco had gone back to work. Without looking up, so she wouldn't see the look his face, he replied, "She got sick yesterday."

"Oh good, then she has plenty of free time. Is she in her room, then?"

"Try the infirmary. And no, she probably doesn't."

"How could she not?"

"She fainted."

"Really? Well Draco, you are very informative. Tell me, how did you find out?"

"I found her, moron."

"Oh, so you were looking for her." Julia refused to give up the belief that Draco wasn't cheating on Pansy. She neglected the fact that in order to cheat on Pansy, Draco would have to date her first.

He sighed. "Yeah sure, I was definitely looking for her. I ran into two of Potter's friends trying to get her down to the infirmary and decided they were too slow and she was too heavy for them."

He was helping Gryfindors? "So Pansy helped you?"

"Of course she did." He longed to give Julia a hug from which there would be no escape. Cursing her was an option, but his wand upstairs and he was really just too lazy.

"Now, did you say two of Potter's friends?"

"Yeah, where have you been? Or rather, where have your eyeballs been? Out with your brains, I suppose?"

"Oh, ouch." She smiled. "Such witty banter. Dear god, with all that imagination you have, how could all those girls ever be dissatisfied upstairs?"

"Yeah, including Pansy," he blearily sighed, ignoring the implications.

"Oh, most definitely Pansy. Kera too." Draco laughed outright. "What, so you're telling me you haven't ever touched her?"

Draco hid his eyes. He coughed slightly. "Julia, to tell you the truth… I can't stand Kera. I'm only following orders from mother to stick to her at all costs. But now that little bitch… I'm going to kill her!" he roared.

Julia looked ever-so-slightly aghast. She had taken acting lessons." What did Pansy do, Draco?" she asked as she prepared for nothing but lies.

"No Pansy, you dolt, that sick bastard Kera." Julia drew back in surprise. He went on. "Ever since I had to pretend to change and become Kera's 'friend', Pansy's been suspicious of something deeper. Apparently Kera felt the same way, because she tells me everything these days, and she decided to kiss me right in front of Pansy. Now the filth wants me to break up with Pansy, so we can date."

Julia sucked in a breath. "Draco, you can't possibly… your image…"

He gave her a hollow laugh. "Julia, you may have been taking Aunt Bellatrix's lessons very seriously, but you're so naïve."

Julia drew in a small rasp. How had he found out? Draco smiled, his bluff successful, and continued as if he had known all along. "Don't you see? One mistake our ignorant father always made was, with the Dark Lord, you must put him before everything else. Dignity, wealth, reputation, life, all of it. What is a little dignity lost at this dump of a school in comparison to all the honors I will receive if all goes well?"

Julia laughed. All this time her brother wasn't really a moron; he was just acting like a goody two-shoes for the stupid servant, so she would confide in him. How brilliant her brother was! "Well then, Draco, what can I do but help you? Clearly, if dating Kera will make her trust you, then we have to do it. I'll have to tell Pansy to back off, while you start dating Kera. Besides, maybe dating Kera will clear up that nasty gay issue. I know you and Pansy enjoyed keeping your relationship private, but this is different. I mean, it's not like you actually like Kera."

Draco nodded. At least Pansy would be out of the picture. He began to close up his books and rise, not wanting to go any farther with the whole issue. "Well, it was nice having this little talk. Glad I managed to clear things up for you." He had almost exited when Julia called out.

"Draco?"

"What?"

"Would you like to come see Aunt Bellatrix tonight with me? She's going to visit."

When his head turned around, it was cloaked in anger. "No, I wouldn't. And I wouldn't like to ever hear you mention her name in such an exposed place again. Who knows who might be listening?"

She gulped and quickly nodded so he would leave. Julia was ecstatic; her brother was back in business.

* * *

It was just after breakfast, and Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione surrounded a drowsy and slightly delirious Kera. She was pale, and Hermione and Ginny fluttered over her like mother ducks. Harry and Ron backed up slightly. It may have been one of those strange sexist mysteries, but girls always seemed to know more about sick people than most boys did. They decided, since Ginny and Hermione were so close, that the best thing would be to give the girl some air and go take some seats a few feet away.

"Kera, do you need some water, or something?" Hermione picked up the jug, hoping the response would be yes.

"Hermione?" Kera whispered. Her voice was sharp with something else that they couldn't make out. "No, I think I'm okay. My throat is a little… sore."

"Then take some."

"I don't think it will help."

"Do you want me to get Madame Pomphrey?" Ginny was disturbed by the listless look in her friend's eyes.

"No need." Madame Pomphrey showed herself into the room and next to the bed. "Ladies, I appreciate the help, but Dumbledore would like to talk to all four of you for a minute or two. Besides, I highly doubt this young lady is in any condition to talk."

"But, Madame Pomphrey…"

"No buts, Mr. Potter. All of you, go!"

They shuffled out, Hermione and Ginny sneaking looks back so often that they both looked as if they had acquired some strange palsy. Finally, Harry had to brush up against them and put hands on both shoulders. It worked for Ginny.

Dumbledore was leaning against an ornately carved pillar in a very un Dumbledore fashion. But, it so became clear why; his leg was bound up in bandages. The twinkle in his aging periwinkle eyes, however, was still there, and he continued to stroke his long, tuck up silver waterfall of hair. His glass, however, were off. "Ah, Harry, Ms. Granger, Mr. and Ms. Weasley," his usual powerful whisper dragged them in from a few feet away. "I am so glad your are prompt. Ms. Granger, is something wrong with your neck?"

Hermione stopped suddenly; she had been looking back again. "Oh… no sir, I'm fine."

"Right. Well, I am sorry to call you away from your friend's bedside so early in the morning, but I just got back from visiting a very old friend of mine who is in St. Mungo's. She too seems to not be in the best condition. However, it is Ms. Carutasu that I needed to talk to you about. How much do you know about her background?"

"Well, she's lived with the Malfoys for at least five years," Ginny helpfully told him.

"Don't you and Mr. Weasley live very close to the Malfoys?"

"Oh, well yeah, but Kera was Julia Malfoy's handmaid until this year. Julia hasn't been home for a good six years."

"Do you know anything else?" Dumbledore looked down his long crooked nose at them each for several seconds.

"Both her parents are dead, sir," Hermione whispered. "They have been for a long time. The Malfoys are all she has left."

"And they treat her like dirt," muttered Ron.

"Not true, Ron. Draco Malfoy seems really nice to her. He was actually the one who brought her here last night, instead of us."

"Malfoy?" Harry snorted.

"Yes, Malfoy. You two should really back off him." Hermione glared in particular at Ron.

"Anything else?" Dumbledore cut through the argument. "Have any of you noticed her magical ability?"

"Sir, why are you asking us this. Wouldn't you know what she could do better than anyone?" Harry questioned him.

"Well, Harry, I thought I did, but I've been some very strange complaints about Ms. Carutasu using her wand to cause mischief in class."

"Sir," Ginny informed him, "Kera can barely use a wand. Believe me, if someone is using magic in class, it isn't her."

"Ah, well, maybe I haven't been quite so specific. Actually, the teacher who raised the complaints may not have been referring to wand magic. I must confess, as my age raises so does the number of new students, and Ms. Carutasu is a very unremarkable one."

"Oh, well sir, Kera is a sorceress. But, I don't think she uses it very often," Ginny attempted to make the comment sound off-hand, but at Dumbledore's thoughtful look, she wondered what she had said.

"Ah, yes, the sorcery. Well, I know that Hagrid finds her help very useful, but many of the other teachers have encouraged her not to use it. You see, Ms. Carutasu's caregivers, the Malfoys, made it clear that their young ward often has bad illnesses when she uses her sorcery for most practical applications. It was a shame when we discovered that also applied to wand use."

"Hey Hermione, maybe that's why Kera always looks so ill," Ron commented. "She's probably not cursed after all."

"Ron," Hermione sighed angrily. She didn't know why, but the idea of Dumbledore hearing all their little theories about the plans of the Death Eaters. She always had the suspicion that Dumbledore didn't take them quite so seriously as he did Harry. "We don't actually think that sir," she explained, wanting nothing more than to slaughter Ron. "We just always wondered what made her so ill, that's all."

"Yes, well, friendship does tend to make people do that," he smiled benignly at them, and Hermione felt her face burn. Why hadn't she noticed this before? All those years, in those short conversations, he'd had admiration for her ability as a student and Ron's courage, but how had she not realized it was only Harry who he treated like an adult. Like facing Voldemort before the legal age made someone a more of an adult than his peers, even those who had been through almost as much. For the first time in her life, Hermione was actually envious of Harry Potter. "Now," Dumbledore continued, when Hermione made no reply, "I would like to talk Harry for a moment, if you three have no objection. Besides, I wouldn't want to keep you from the bedside of a sick friend."

Hermione refused to say a word; she felt walking a way was the best thing. At least Ron and Ginny were following her, not like one of those weird teen movies where everyone stares after the person. She always hated teen movies. Madame Pomphrey discreetly exited as they returned, muttering something about needing to go to the Slytherin Common Room. Kera was sitting up, looking extremely tired but, aside from her usual pathetic state, much better than before. "Well, Dumbledore's gone," Hermione commented to Kera.

"Gone? You mean Dumbledore's dead?" Kera's voice sounded hopeful, surprised, and rasping in such a strange combination that they all looked at her.

There were several moments of an awkward silence the likes of which was until then unknown.

"John Ritter is dead."

Ginny screwed up her face in Ron's direction. "Ron, what are you talking about?"

"John Ritter, from Three's Company. He's dead," Ron was at his most innocent, a childlike state of utter randomness, clearly brought on by the noxious plastic and hospital smell that permeated the place. Hermione gave him a small kiss on the cheek. She clearly had been inhaling too much as well.

"What's so funny?" Harry had returned from his oh-so grown up conversation with the headmaster.

Hermione decided to put her newfound jealousy behind her, and enlighten Harry. "Oh, it was nothing," she told him. Or not.

"So Harry, what did Dumbledore want to talk to you about?" Ginny asked.

"Oh, he seems to think I may have been the one who started Pansy Parkinson's toenails growing in the hall yesterday. Apparently she won't even come out of her room to get help." He turned to invalid girl. "I'm sure Kera wouldn't know a thing about it."

"Ummmmmm… atchoo?" was Kera's response.

* * *

Sometime after lunch, Draco slipped past the infirmary duty and came to Kera's bedside. Placing a chair near her head, he sat, and tapped the sleeping girl awake. An amused chuckle bitter with sadness escaped his lips when she turned away before she'd even looked. "How did you know?" he asked.

"Draco, why won't you just go away?"

"I'm touched. You called me Draco. I thought it was just Malfoy these days."

"Of course it is, Malfoy."

He sighed. "Umm, so, are you… feeling… any better?" The words came out with the tone of an awkward child.

Nothing but silence. Then, Kera's head turned. Curious eyes met his cold ones. "Why should you care? I mean, shouldn't you be off with all your pureblood friends or something?"

He of course heard the poison that welled up when she spoke of his 'friends'. Draco allowed the slightest flinch, half to make himself feel better, half to make her feel worse. She was of course doing this to spite him; her ignorance of his true feelings was the ultimate display of the lacking relationship between peers, or some nonsense like that. His greatest fear, at the moment, was that she actually meant what she said, and that what had once been there between them no longer existed. But, no, she couldn't literally forget, could she? "Why should I care? My dear Kera, when one of my real friends is injured, I'll naturally want to visit them and inquire as to their present state of health," he informed her, with his usual slight mockery.

"Oh yes, of course, how positively silly of me. Tell me, did you get that line out of a fortune cookie? Oh but, what about when Crabbe was hospitalized for three days for a snake bite? I don't recall you going down to see him."

"When did I ever tell you Crabbe was my friend? Did you know I found out that my parents paid him to spy on me last year?"

"Oh."

He gave her a pat on the shoulder. "So, how are you?" He was confident that she would respond this time. After all, he basically confirmed that he was her friend. There shouldn't have been any reason for her to suspect the other real reason for his visit.

Clearly, Draco Malfoy didn't know girls as well as he thought. "Draco, you can guess how I'm doing pretty easily. Cut to the chase; why are you here?"

He sighed. Time to give up the ghost. With an air of absolute calm, he told Kera about his small conversation with his 'rat faced pig of a little whelp' sister, neglecting of course to mention Aunt Bellatrix or any plans he may have been carrying out for the Dark Lord. Kera heaved a sigh of her own after he finished. "Well, it's great that you aren't dating Pansy anymore, but did you really have to be so mean to me?"

"Kera, when will you realize that Pansy and I haven't dated in three years? Besides, you know my sister wouldn't accept anything else from me but her sick version of the truth. If she had it her way, Pansy and I would be happily married, with ten or twenty little puggy Slytherinlits running around."

She laughed. It was weak and raspy, but it made Draco laugh too. Until the laugh became a cough. She smiled a little. "Yeah, I know that, but you don't honestly expect us to start dating now, do you?"

"Well…" he paused. Her face fell. "I mean, Kera, you know all about my image since that rumor got started. I was thinking maybe, just for awhile… Come on! No one will take me seriously these days!"

Kera paled in anger, a feat that was next to impossible, considering her pallid condition. "Draco, doesn't my opinion even matter to you? I thought I was your friend, but you won't even consider my feelings!"

"Kera, I know it'll be awkward but-" Draco attempted to articulate what he wanted her to do. But, how could you explain to a girl that she was the only girl you could date, with the understanding that the whole relationship was a lie, and the moment she wasn't needed anymore that would be the end of it?

"Draco, would you just spit it out? You know, I can't wait to hear your brilliant reason for this great plan." She acted just plain prissy. After all, she was his 'friend'; it was her right.

"Well, you're the best one for the job. You'd be the most convincing, and there'd be no romantic attachment from you." It was a lame-footed explanation. Draco figured it was the best he had.

Kera expected better from him. "Oh, so in other words, anyone else would actually fall for you? Don't be so full of yourself, Draco, there's a whole class of women who affect passion for men, when they get money for it. They're called prostitutes. But, while we're on the subject, may I remind you about the last little assignment of yours that didn't require any romantic attraction? Ginny was about ready to shoot me, as I recall, and she still hasn't gone out with you. How is this supposed to work any better?"

Draco ignored her jibe. His anger was starting to rise up, and he didn't want to hear it. "Kera, I didn't even have to ask you, if I didn't want to." No no no. Not like that Draco. Don't do what your father would do. You're better than that. From somewhere deep inside an unknown region called Draco's heart, Draco2 started fighting back the rage.

"Yeah, I know, just like you didn't ask me for the last one." Obstinately, she turned her back on him. At this point, however, she knew she was pretty much trapped.

"No, Kera, I don't what I was just saying. Please," he gave his head a little shake, like he was trying to clear the smoke around, "I don't want to make you." He ventured the tiniest brush of her arm. She turned like it had been an electric shock. He continued, "But, you don't know how much it would mean to me if you did this. Believe me, it's not going to harm you in any way. Not from Pansy, not from my sister, not from anybody, alright? What do you have to lose?"

She waited until he finished, and then some. Several minutes trickled by in embarrassment, not wanting to intrude. Finally, she decided. "You swear that this won't backlash at me in anyway?"

"Well, I can't make any guarantees, but I'll sure as hell try my best."

She heaved a great sigh, a sigh of defeat, almost. "Alright, I'll go out with you. But, I have two conditions." He nodded. She held up a finger. "One: no ordering me to do anything nasty with you. No sex, no insulting, no actual fist fighting, no nothing. I may be spending a lot of time with you, but darn it, I'd like to make those sorts of decisions on my own."

"Sounds reasonable to me. I didn't think there'd be any reason for that sort of thing anyway."

"Good." The second finger came up. "Two: I'm still going to want to have my own free time with my own friends. If you come along and you start a fight, we're through, okay?"

"What if they start it?"

"That's their problem. Now, if you agree to both of these conditions, I'll agree to be your weird imaginary girlfriend... thing. However, if either one is broken, I'll leave, and if you try to make me do anything, I will find a way to make you regret it. Got it?"

Draco gave a final nod to seal the deal. "That's simple enough. Well, I suppose I'll be seeing you in even closer quarters from now on."

She gave a small little chuckle. Their shaky, reinstated friendship had just become more awkward. Draco looked away and Kera absent traced the thick weave of her creamy sheets, and longed to see the snow. Then, the idea hit her. "Draco, could you be a darling little beau and go ask Madame Pomphrey if you can take me for a walk outside. I think I'm going to go mad in here."

Draco was a bit startled, but enough to question her. "Oh yeah, sure. Here, why don't I just take you along with me. Do you need to get dressed?" It was a little easier, in an awkward way. Dating meant that the two now had an excuse to be nice to each other, something they had recently ceased to do, even in private. Draco was afraid he may have forgotten how to be that way.

"No, I never got out of them," she informed him.

Inside, Draco2 reveled in his small victory over the bastard that had usurped his body for the past 8 or so years. The revolution had begun.

"Well, I guess we should go then." He held out his hand to her, to help her up, and was mildly surprised when took it not as a friend would, but the 'other way', fingers linked.

"We all have parts to play," she smiled.

Maybe Kera was still a little dizzy. Maybe they were just doing their jobs. But, they walked away just like that.

* * *

Julia was tense. Visit with Aunt Bellatrix were always like a trip to a foreign land. There was always the constant excitement that lead up to it, the heated anticipation. But, at the same time, there was the weakest stages of something akin to dread. Aunt Bellatrix had always been slightly foreign to the youngest Malfoy. With all the adult treatment came the adult expectation of responsibility whenever Bellatrix was around. Draco had shaken Julia badly when he'd admonished her for speaking about their Aunt in the open. Who knew? Maybe there would be nothing but a harsh rebuttal from her aunt for her foolishness. So, for the entire day, Julia flew from one thing to another, never concentrating on one activity for more than a half an hour.

By eight o'clock, with an hour left to go, even Julia's thick-brained boyfriend, Clarence, had noticed something amiss. He was used to Julia only half being around whenever they just sat, but now she was gone. "Julia, is something wrong? Did someone say something to you today? Was it another comment about your brother?"

Clarence really liked Draco Malfoy, and was thoroughly convinced he couldn't be a homo. After all, Draco had told him the perfect way to get his sister, Julia. It had been so simple, so manly. "Just beat up the next guy who even looks at her funny," had been his advice. Who could Dear Abby like that and not be straight as an arrow?

"Hmm?" she replied, opening her eyes in the sleepy way yet cute way only a young girl could.

"You were gone," was his answer. That, and pulling her closer to him.

Julia allowed it. Puppy love was so sweet to her, a very necessary candy in her life. After, with boys like Clarence, no one even thought to give her a wary glance. Her boyfriend took down men twice his size and, being in third year, was expected to become, if possible, more devastating. "Oh, no, I was just thinking." Clarence would delve deeper. Thinking was just not something the boy did.

"I hope it wasn't about another boy," he chuckled, exhibiting that wonderful jock humor that made him so popular with the ladies.

"What other boys are there for many," she murmured, knowing he'd be happy with that one.

Clarence let out a throaty laugh. Julia allowed herself to smirk. Knowing how to work a man was three-fourths of the job. But, she really just couldn't stand just sitting any longer. Stretching in her usual cat way, she gave him a small peck on the cheek. "I've got to get up super early tomorrow and-"

He finished for her. "You girls and your beauty sleep. Goodnight, then."

Good boy, thought Julia, and gave him a proper kiss as a reward before leaving.

Julia had just fallen onto her warm green bed when her head began to buzz. The mirror! it screamed inside her brain, and she quickly brought out a small pocket mirror, kept for just such an occasion. An image of Bellatrix Lestrange appeared, tapping her foot impatiently. "Ah, my dear, how's Slytherin? I hope you children still uphold the tradition of our house." This was her traditional greeting to Julia.

"Oh, yes, Aunt Bellatrix. My boyfriend Clarence Grainer nearly knocked a boy out with a spell the other day. The boy seemed to believe that my dear brother was a homosexual."

Aunt Bellatrix raised an eyebrow. "Really? How strange. Still, I'm glad to see you chose Grainer. Strong, loyal, easy to control. Right up your alley."

Julia beamed. Seems her aunt had no idea about her niece's slip up that morning. Bellatrix cleared her throat. "My dear, I'm sorry I couldn't come to visit in person, but the Dark Lord needed me, and so I just couldn't make the journey. But, if you don't mind, I still like to ask you a few questions. You see, the Dark Lord needs an idea of how Kera is doing at Hogwarts."

Julia remembered her brother's words earlier that day. "Aunt Bellatrix, is the area secure first?" she questioned. Her end was already masked by a simple muffle spell. No one would hear a word.

"Yes of course," answered Bellatrix. "But you're using your head, that's good. Now, how well does Kera take orders?"

"Well enough. She tends to respond quickly and does what she's told."

"Good. Have you ever given her a hard order?"

"What do you mean?"

"A hard order to follow. Something that many people find morally wrong, that they try to struggle more against. Has she received any of those?"

"Not really. I told her to eat a worm once, but that was a close as it got. She did that, no trouble."

"Ahh. Well, this may be a bit of a problem."

"What? Oh, wait a minute." The terse discussion had been interrupted by the creak of a door opening. Luckily, it was upstairs. "Never mind, Aunt Bellatrix, what were you saying?"

"Well, you know what is required for the Dark Lord's plan to work, yes?" Julia nodded. "Well, Kera will very likely find this morally wrong, and she may rebel."

"But, Aunt Bellatrix, how will I control her if she manages to break free?"

"With four easy words and a spell."

"Will Draco know about this?"

"No. The Dark Lord wants you, Julia." Bellatrix's face was proud. She was Julia's real mother, not Narcissa.

Julia grinned.

A/N: Well, after torturing my three or so readers, I've decided to cut you all a break.! PLEASE R&R!


	16. Can I Kill Her Now?

A/N: Hey y'all. Sorry this took so long to get added on. I've been really busy crying all night about how few and far between my reviews are. If you review, you know who you are, and I love you all dearly to death!

Chapter 16: Can I Kill Her Now?

While Julia danced around her bed with absolute glee, Harry leaned in closer to the table where he and his friends poured over last minute homework. Ginny had stumbled off to her dorm several minutes before, and Harry was fairly sure the people left in the common room were much too busy with homework to be bothered to listen in.

"Hey, Hermione, Ron, I need to tell you about my conversation with Dumbledore this afternoon," he whispered.

Hermione grumbled and didn't even look at him. "Harry, you told us already. Dumbledore thought you'd done something to Parkinson. Is it really that interesting?" she asked tersely.

"Well, I had to say something in front of everyone else, didn't I?" he whispered. The whisper couldn't mask the slight rise in his voice that the hurt had given him.

Hermione thought about this quickly. She couldn't, in good conscience, blame Harry for Dumbledore's pathetic reasoning. It would be nice too, to take some of the pain away. But, it wasn't so much of a pain now, more of a sting, really. "Well, then, what was it?" Hermione asked, trying to sound interested, which she was.

"It was about Voldemort," Harry told them. Ron coughed as his head shot up. Hermione gave him a good pat on the back.

"Go on," she said. It didn't occur to Hermione that she'd begun to whisper too.

"Dumbledore wanted me to be more alert. He said that Voldemort has been chasing after some powerful weapon, and that he may have finally gotten it."

"What's the weapon?" Ron asked.

"Ron," Hermione sighed. "If it's some powerful curse of something, I doubt the Death Eaters are going to come and say, 'Hey, look at this great new curse we found, it's really cool'."

Harry nodded. "Dumbledore's spies are in the dark. They told him that they've only just heard it filter around through the higher ranks in meetings, and only a few times at that. I guess nothing is that certain yet."

Hermione bit her lip, all previous annoyances gone. "Harry, are you in any danger?"

He shrugged. "The Professor's not sure, but he told me to be on guard. I guess they might try to use it against me somehow."

Ron scratched his head. "But, I thought they couldn't get close enough to you at Hogwarts, or the Dursleys, or even on the train. How's You-Know-Who going to touch you if he can't be in the same place as you?"

Hermione shook her head. "He's gotten to Harry before, hasn't he? I'm sure if he really wants to get to Harry, he'll find a way. Maybe this weapon is something that will get Harry where Voldemort wants him. Or, maybe he'll just use a portkey. Harry, I wouldn't accept anything from anyone for awhile."

"Does that include your advice?" Harry joked.

"Jeez Hermione," Ron reply, "you're full of doom and gloom, aren't you? The way you're talking, it's like the evil git's already taken over, and we're prisoners in his sinister grip. Can't you be cheerful?"

"Oh, like you're being?" Harry laughed.

Hermione ignored them both. "But Harry, what if this new weapon gets to you? Aren't you going to get any help on this?"

"Actually, I am."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Professor Dumbledore told me that Professor Sharper agreed to give me extra lessons for DADA. I guess she may have connections with the order or something, because Dumbledore said she'd know exactly what I need to know."

"What?" Hermione gasped a loud, sucking intake of air. Luckily, no one turned to look. Just those crazy 6th years acting up. "Harry, is Dumbledore crazy? Professor Sharper is related to an insane Death Eater. How does he know that she won't kill you out of revenge or madness or something?"

"Hermione, what is wrong with you? Professor Sharper isn't mad," Ron told her. If Harry hadn't known better, he would have thought Ron liked the Professor, or something like that. His tone of voice was too firm in its conviction.

"No, but her sister is," Hermione informed them.

"Hermione, what are you going on about? Is Arithmancy finally getting to you?" Harry asked, looking a bit concerned.

"No," Hermione replied firmly. "Remember that conversation we had about Professor Sharper having the same name as the Executioner? You guys just thought it was a coincidence." Hermione didn't wait for a reply. "Well, I looked it up, and the Executioner, Melody Sharper, is Cherrie Sharper's older sister. They were both orphans at St. Stephen's in London. That means that Melody Sharper would also be Professor Sharper's only family."

"Are you serious?" they replied.

"Yes. Maybe Ms. Sharper hates her sister these days, but I'd watch out when you're at those lessons. Who knows what could happen?"

Harry swallowed, "Well, if Dumbledore trusts her, then I guess I will too."

Hermione sighed. Harry's blind faith in Dumbledore could land him in a tight spot one day if she wasn't careful. It wasn't so much that Dumbledore was always wrong, or a bad judge of character, but the Professor was getting old, and sooner or later someone or something would managed get the best of him. It was just how people tended to die these days. Hermione just hope that whatever got the Order's leader wouldn't conquer everyone else as well.

Seemingly from nowhere, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil sauntered over to the table. They had been in a habit of appearing where they were least expected lately. Both said it wasn't their fault they were inexplicably drawn to the best eavesdropping positions. Of course, Hermione had other ideas about this strange phenomenon, most of them involving bought magic. Right now, though, she was interested in shooing them away so she, Harry, and Ron could discuss Professor Sharper further.

Harry, on the other hand, looked relieved to see them. The girls looked full to bursting about something, and Harry was sure it would distract Hermione, whatever it was.

Parvati came and stole the seat right by Ron. Lavender came up and took a seat next to the glaring Hermione. "Well, Parvati, would you look at what we have here."

"Why Lavender, it looks like a bunch of kids who didn't do their homework. Shame, shame," Parvati said dryly. Somehow, over the summer, the two girls had developed an annoying sense of humor, along with their strange abilities

Lavender assumed the role of a teacher. "So, Mr. Weasley, would you happen to have an explanation for this terrible, half finished piece of trash?"

"We were in the hospital half the weekend, Lavender, didn't you hear? Kera nearly died in our common room," Ron muttered.

"That weird girl? What was she doing in our common room? And why would you visit her, of all people?" Parvati had an eyebrow cocked like a gun.

"Well, Ginny brought her in, and we felt kind of guilty when she fainted in front of us, alright?" Ron growled. Out of the three, he denied any acquainted with Kera the most; she was always his little sister's friend, end of story. "Besides, it wasn't like she could take herself," he muttered.

"Yes, but it wasn't like you actually had to visit her afterwards, did you?" Parvati commented. "After all, if she's fainted, I hardly doubt she going to notice any visitors."

Hermione snorted. "Parvati, how long do you think a fainting person is out for? It was yesterday, not five minutes ago."

Parvati shot a dirty glance at the bushy headed girl. Hermione Granger never knew how fortunate she was. Best friends with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, top of the class, and not even an ugly birthmark to be found. For years, Parvati and Lavender had watched her, waiting to make the move that would put them with Hermione on her high Gryffindor position. It wasn't so much that they wanted to take Hermione's place, or push her out; under other circumstances, the three may have been thicker than chowder. But fate had put Ron in Lavender's heart, and ambition into Parvati's mind. If Lavender could just date Ron, maybe Parvati could rub elbows with the friends of one of the fastest ascending stars in the Wizarding World. But if Hermione insisted on acting like Parvati was simple, well then she would have to go for awhile.

"Well, I think maybe you shouldn't have gone to see her," Lavender said matter-of-factly. "I mean, I heard she's a real witch to be around. That's why no one will go near her."

"Oh, really?" Ron asked.

Hermione sighed. She couldn't believe Ron would do such a thing to someone who, before the year had started, he had called, 'a really strange but funny girl'. Then again, he had always been the most susceptible to the popular whim. Who else had so widely spread 'The Great Sneezedini'? All three friends had been on the butt end of the social scale, and while it made Harry and Hermione and even Ginny more adverse to the popular idea, Ron had developed a strange urge to become like everyone else and to do what they did. That taste of popularity he'd gotten in the Quidditch final had ignited the issue, and the frequent glances of Lavender Brown in class had done nothing to deflate it. Of course, she had wait several months before she had even approached him.

"Lavender, that's ridiculous. Kera's been perfectly friendly to us, hasn't she, Harry?" Hermione wasn't even going to attempt to get an honest answer from Ron.

Harry looked up. He hadn't been following a word, except a few words that a certain redhead had told him again and again. Thinking of Ginny, he said, "Oh, yeah. She's a great person to hang out with."

"Lavender," Hermione tried the gentle approach, "have you actually seen Kera acting like a witch around anyone?"

Lavender thought about this while Parvati rolled her eyes, and Ron stared at Lavender. Finally she said, "Well, no, I haven't seen her acting mean towards anyone. But, then again, I almost never see her around anyone anyway, so how can I tell?"

Parvati giggled. "Well, Lavender, that's not true anymore."

Lavender smiled. "Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Not anymore. Oh, they looked kind of cute together, you know."

"But who could've guessed? I mean, that came out of no where. Even I had no idea." Parvati prided herself on knowing about couples even before the couples themselves knew.

Harry looked up sharply. For some unexplainable reason, he thought Parvati had looked at him slyly, like she knew something. Ron and maybe even Hermione still hadn't found out about his fairly new relationship with Ginny, and he didn't exactly want Parvati to be the one who told them. "What are you talking about Parvati?" he asked, praying someone else was the subject of her prying lifestyles. If not, well… maybe he could explain everything to Ron from on top of the roof, before he got pushed off.

Parvati giggled again, making Harry feel worse. "Well Harry," she muttered, "I don't know. But, I guess since you're so nice to her, she won't mind. But then again…"

"Oh Parvati, just tell them. I mean, they weren't sneaking around; the whole school will know soon. Actually, within a day or two, by my guess. Torturing Harry won't do a thing." Lavender smiled at Ron.

Harry was relieved to know it wasn't about him. Wait. What if 'she' was Ginny? "Please Parvati, just tell ,me already."

"Yeah, Parvati, I want to hear this too." Hermione smiled slightly. Parvati must have heard some pretty bad stuff about Kera to want to tell it this badly.

"Well… It is her secret after all." Parvati smiled, enjoying all the attention as she played her little game.

Ron looked at Lavender. "Aw come on Parvati, just tell them," Lavender half-whispered, staring at Ron. Hermione felt a little sick and wanted to go to bed. She was finished with her homework anyway.

"Alright." Parvati always listened to Lavender. The two girls were pretty much sisters at heart. "Well, Lavender and I were walking down by the lake after the snowball fight we'd had with those two cute Hufflepuff boys, Mark Twinning and Michael Brown. You know, the two fifth years that look like brothers. They have the most gorgeous green eyes and floppy brown hair. I'm so sure at least one of them likes me too. I mean, Mark kept coming after me with snowball after snowball, but every time Michael was there to protect me. I mean, they practically got into a brawl over me. But I think I'd prefer Mark to Michael; Michael way too sensitive for my tastes. I like a man who's tough and not afraid to-"

Hermione cleared her throat loudly. Ron and Harry sat dumbstruck in the face of Parvati's musing. Hermione never went on about boys; she was really like a boy with a girl's looks.

Parvati smiled. She knew how unused they were to all of this, and she liked it. "Well, we, that is, Lavender and I, were walking around the lake to try and warm up afterwards, when Kera walked out of the woods. I stopped Lavender, not wanting to be seen. See, I have this special talent for being able to tell when I'm about to see something important and-"

"Parvati," moaned Lavender. "You're scaring the boys. Just let me tell them already so we can go to bed."

"Okay."

Lavender spoke directly to Ron, continuing, "At first, we thought it was just Kera taking a walk or something. But, a second later, we realized someone else was right next to her, holding her hand. And, as they got a little closer, they turned towards us, and we saw them. It was a guy. Guess who it was."

"Well," Ron said snidely, "are you sure it wasn't a girl? I mean, I can't think of a single guy that would ever date someone like her."

Parvati snorted. Lavender stared. Hermione huffed. Harry ignored them all. Lavender sighed and continued. "No Ron, it was a guy, I'm sure of it. How many girls look like Draco Malfoy?"

* * *

Earlier that day, Draco and Kera went to the Winter Courtyard. Kera had wanted to stay inside, but she didn't have much of a choice. Without Draco, all she could do was hobble and trip. At least he gave thirty seconds to the thought of her homework, only to remember that she'd probably already finished it or could do it in thirty seconds tomorrow. Kera was secretly pleased. The winter courtyard really was a nice place to be, even alone. She had gone back once or twice on her own. It didn't disappoint. Fresh snow had fallen in the middle of the night, erasing all the footprints from before and spreading glittering icing over ground again. Draco went to his favorite bench, tucked back in an alcove, and awkwardly brushed off the snow with his left hand. Kera took a grateful seat, smiling shyly one of the few gentlemanly gestures Draco had ever done for her. He took his seat and began to look at everything. Everything but the girl he'd brought here. It took long enough, but he finally caught her wispy look in his direction and focused in.

"What?" he asked, finally letting go of her hand. He seemed almost surprised to find it still there.

"Nothing," she hummed. The smile grew.

"Oh, really?" He raised an eyebrow. "There's nothing on your mind? Come on Kera, you're too smart to not be thinking of something." He still got a silent Cheshire cat. "At the very least you're thinking of how adorable I am, aren't you?"

That broke it. Kera gasped and lightly punched him. He grinned. "Oh, you actually were? I'm touched."

Kera gasped again, but this time she didn't bother to retaliate. "Draco, can I ask you something?" He nodded. "No, I mean for real, not joking, seriously?"

"I don't see why not."

"Why did you bring me out here? I mean, I know that I'm supposed to be your fake girlfriend and everything, but what's the point in pretending if no one's around to see the act?" She looked down at the snow, wishing it would fall and never stop until she was buried in it. Or that tree, its hand reaching out to grab a piece of the sky for itself, would grab her instead. But then she wouldn't finish her thought, and the conversation would be left open for all eternity. So no such luck. "Don't get me wrong. It's still just as breathtaking as the last time, but why here? Why not somewhere more public? Why waste your time entertaining me in private?"

Just like a seat back, the wall almost curved to fit the bench. Draco leaned back and sighed. It was long and heaving, conveying some hidden emotion its owner would appreciate not having to devoid. His pale brow furrowed at her. "Well, I-" Draco just let his voice trail off. Those weren't the right words. Snide comments and angry asides wouldn't answer the question. He actually thought about her comment. Was he really that terrible to her? The concern had never been raised until now. "Do you honestly think that badly about me?" he asked her.

"No, of course not, how could I- maybe a little." The last part leapt out of her mouth just before it closed forever in the following mortification. She swallowed at his crestfallen face. "Oh, come on Draco, you haven't given me a reason not to. I mean, you ignore me in public, and then that thing with Pansy, and Ginny, and Harry…"

"Kera I- I don't what to say. For once."

"Well, I don't even mind it so much. I mean, there was no harm done, except that Pansy is after me every time I turn around, and Ginny won't trust me alone with Harry, and at least half the school hates-" Kera didn't mean for her words to turn nasty, but once it began it didn't seem to stop.

Draco quickly cut her off. "Okay, okay, I get it. I guess I haven't been the nicest guy around." For the first time, Draco's pale face flushed. Maybe it was from injured pride, maybe it was from actual care, but it happened.

But Kera wouldn't let him off so easily. "You Draco, maybe it's not okay. I never really gave it too much thought, but you're behind most of the cruel things that happened to me here."

"Kera-I-I'm-"

"No, not right now." Kera stood up, shaking. "Draco, remind me again why I'm even pretending to date you. Because right now, I feel like I should just be as far away from you as possible. I mean Draco, can you name one thing you have ever done for me that was kind or generous and without anything in it for you?"

Draco seized her hands and forced her back onto the bench. "Don't stand up when you get excited. You're too weak to do that right now." Kera's mouth dropped open, halfway to making another sound. Draco slid a black gloved hand smoothly over it. A snowflake hit his face and melted from the heat still coursing through his cheeks. "Here's one nice thing I'm doing for you. I'm keeping you here, and stopping you from saying something you might regret. Remember, we need each other right now."

Her face leapt away. "How do I possibly need you, Draco?"

He shook his head. "You just do. You need me to be your boyfriend just like I need you to be my girlfriend so people will take me seriously."

"Yeah, and I'm the only one who will even pretend these days."

"No, you're the only one who won't take it seriously."

"Oh. Yeah. Right." Kera tore herself away and started to stomp off. "See you, Draco." How could he talk to her like that? Of course she didn't need him; she'd gotten along without Draco Malfoy for 11 years, so why should she suddenly develop such a crutch for him now? The blood in her head made Kera dizzy. She did the only sensible thing. She fainted.

Coming to meant looking up at Draco's slightly nervous features. He helped her to sit, nothing more. "See, you need me. The moment Pansy see the state you're in, it'll be sharks in bloody water. You'll never survive. But now, if I'm with you, you'll be fine. And everyone will think we're dating. Simple, right?"

* * *

By Monday, wildfire gossip had spread around the school. Ginny, by means of interrogation, bribery, and the friendship card, had managed to find out that neither Parvati, nor Lavender, nor any of the other ten people they told about Kera had let the cup spill over. Since Hermione, beyond sleepily informing Ginny, and Harry clearly didn't care, she could only assume Ron was in the throws of another fit of malice and jealousy. After all, he never got nearly as much publicity as Draco Malfoy, especially from a positive perspective.

She tracked him into the Great Hall for dinner. Just as she was about to open her lips, however, Hermione dashed in. "Ginny, get out here now. I think Pansy is about to slaughter Kera!"

Ginny vaulted over the bench. Well, that's a bit extreme. She clumsily flipped over the edge and followed her bushy friend out into the entry way. A crowd had come around, tightening in around two girls. One, angry and pug-faced, was busily working away at demolishing the other, who weakly attempted with steadily failing strength, to block or punch back. Both of their wands lay useless at a passerby's feet. As Ginny decked, shoved, and coerced the students out of her way, she began to overhear snatches of the public feeling. "Oh my, if Pansy's not careful, she could really hurt that girl." "Yeah, wonder what the girl did? Did she steal Pansy's stuff or something?" "Well, yeah, if Draco Malfoy is Pansy's property." "What was that?" "Yeah, didn't you hear-" "What if Kera gets killed?" "Well, good riddance." The last speaker yelped in pain as Ginny's elbow was accidentally driven into his ribs.

A breath of fresh air filled Ginny's lungs as she cleared everyone. But, her wind left her as she took in the scene. Kera was half conscious, slipping away as Pansy kicked her in the stomach. Her hands fell useless at her sides, and she looked like a dying animal who finally had resigned herself to the end. Pansy, too, was like an animal, but a grunting, sweating bulldog innocently tearing apart another creature in its bloodlust. But Pansy was speaking, screaming half coherent words over the murmuring words of the crowd. "You… took him… won't let you… little bitch… dead now… going to… laugh… you're…"

"Pansy, get away from her!" Ginny knew it was stupid to interfere, and knew what was going to happen next. With alarming speed, Pansy dropped her rag doll and turned to the fresh meat. There was blood on her knuckles.

"What did you say to me, blood traitor?" Pansy was one to talk about being a traitor to the old blood. By beating a servant of the Malfoys without permission, she ran the risk of being labeled a traitor herself. Hurting a worker of the master without cause was like breaking the mistress's finest china.

Pansy began to advanced, being too impassioned to wait for a reply, knowing who had said it. From off to the side, a timid voice muttered, "Maybe you should stop now, Pansy. I think you've made your point." Pansy grunted and Ginny closed her eyes, knowing she could never fight her way through the crowd in time.

"Pansy," came a raspy voice. Kera hadn't lost consciousness after all. "I know I'm going to hate myself for this, but your fight's with me. Smash me to pulp; Ginny's not yours to beat." She gave a slight bloody cough.

"Pansy, maybe you should just stop fighting them both. I think it would be in your best interest if no more blood was lost tonight. If you keep going, you might find some of it is your own." The voice was cool and slick. Everyone in the crowd shuddered, forgetting how cruel and calm that person could be. Why had they been so stupid to think a man like that was gay?

Pansy shuddered. The madness faded from her eyes as she crept around to face him. "Draco, I was only doing what needed to be done. The girl needed to be punished for what she did."

"And what did she do, Pansy. May I point out that Kera and I followed years of tradition and that I was the one who asked her to be my girlfriend, not the other way around?" The years of breeding had done their job. Draco was the upright lord to Pansy's grumbling serf. She edged towards the ring of people.

But Pansy wasn't completely down yet. "Draco, Kera did this to you. The Temptress put a spell on you to make you love her, and forget who you really care about. I was just trying to free you."

Draco threw back his head and laughed. Everyone began to back off, loosening up in case a teacher finally heard and came out. "Pansy, have you seen Kera with me at all today?"

"No, why?"

"Well, you of all people should know that even the strongest love potions have to be administered at least every 18 hours."

"How would I know that?"

"Don't lie. I've seen you use them before." The crowd chuckled as Pansy bloomed furiously. "Now," he continued, "if Kera hasn't seen me for at least eighteen hours, how do you propose she slip a potion to me? A friend perhaps? None of hers have been near me today. In fact, the only person who has been following me close enough to do anything to me today was you Pansy. And since you were trying to 'save' me just now, I doubt you slipped me a potion."

Pansy stammered. "Well, maybe you don't like her right now."

Draco's fake smile that had appeared while he talked with Pansy fell flat. "Well Pansy, right about now, I like Kera so much I'm ready to rip you to pieces for doing this to her. Does that answer your question?"

When no reply came, Draco turned and knelt by Kera. Petting her head, he began to wipe off the blood from her mouth with his robes. Pansy harrumphed and he glared at her. Kera opened a groggy eye and stared at him. "You lied to me," she whispered.

He smiled, "If I had no Pansy was so-"

"Pansy?"

"Yeah, Pansy, I would have kept you a lot closer. Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

She winced. "Speak not the name. I don't know."

"Well," he sighed, "let's get you out of here."

"Aw, look at that. Flaming Draco is helping his dear friend to the infirmary. Could he get more feminine?"

Draco wanted to turn around and find his assailant, but right now, his main concern was Kera. He leaned in to pick her up, and, before he knew what happened he leaned in too far, and she leaned in a little more and they touched. Her lips knew right where to go as they met his, as though it had been planned all along.

Kera didn't know what was happening. She felt weaken than at any moment when Pansy had attacked her. She knew she was bloody and that the blood in her mouth was in his and her blood was on his clothes, but he didn't seem to care. If anything, it made him hold her closer. For the first time, Kera felt completely safe and secure with Draco, aware that everyone within twenty feet was watching. She didn't care. But, the space between them did. It began to push them apart, shoving in embarrassment and worry and pain. They separated, both with redder cheeks than before.

Ignoring their classmates, Draco held Kera so that she barely touched the ground. As they wandered off, he whispered, "There. Have I done something completely unselfish for you yet?"

She looked at him, half out. "No."

"What? You're kidding me. I just saved you from the slaughtered house."

"True, but it was selfish as well."

"How?"

She grinned. "After that little shenanigan, how many people do you think will still label you as gay?"

"True. I'm sorry I didn't give you any warning, but it just kind of happened to me too."

She closed her eyes. "Don't tell me that. I didn't hear you and I'll still think it was all part of some plan of yours."

* * *

Julia was mortified. Her brother played his part for the servant so well, but to act like that in public. If he wasn't careful, he would sully the family name again, with all this cavorting about with the lower classes. Off to her side, she heard Ginny Weasley turn to the boy who had made the flaming comment. "How many homosexuals kiss like that?" she asked him.

The boy had no reply and left quickly. Ginny lingered a minute more, watching Kera go down the hall with her head on Draco's shoulder. She hated to admit it, hated to give any credit to Malfoy, but for once, she was proud to say that she knew him. For once, he had done the right thing. Even if it was a little weird to see him actually care for anyone before. She couldn't wait to go chew out Ron for making fun of those two and went back to get her brother.

Julia heard heavy breathing beside her. She turned to find Pansy behind her, disheveled and broken. "What?" Julia asked.

"When exactly can I kill that girl?"

Julia sighed. Pansy was such a boy when it came to these things. "Soon enough," she told Pansy, cautioning her in a motherly voice to wait for her turn.


End file.
